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NAVAHO  LEGENDS 


COLLECTED  AND  TRANSLATED 


BY 


WASHINGTON   MATTHEWS  ' 

M.D.,  LL.V5. 

MAJOR   U.  S.  ARMY,  EX-PRESIDENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    FOLK-LORE 
SOCIETY,  ETC. 


WITH  INTRODUCTION,  NOTES,  ILLUSTRATIONS,  TEXTS 
INTERLINEAR   TRANSLATIONS,  AND  MELODIES 


or  THF 

UNIVERSITY 

or 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

for  €fje  3Hmerican  folk-Store  £ocietp  ftp 

HOUGHTON,    MIFFLIN   AND    COMPANY 

LONDON:  DAVID  NUTT,  270,  271  STRAND 

LEIPZIG:   OTTO  HARRASSOWITZ,  QUERSTRASSE,  14 

1897 


JFibe  fwnbreb  copie?  printeb, 


Copyright,  1897, 
BY  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY. 

All  rights  reserved. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  and  Company. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION i 

LEGENDS. 

THE  NAVAHO  ORIGIN  LEGEND. 

I.    The  Story  of  the  Emergence 63 

II.    Early  Events  in  the  Fifth  World 76 

III.  The  War  Gods .104 

IV.  Growth  of  the  Navaho  Nation 135 

NATI'NESTHANI 160 

THE  GREAT  SHELL  OF  KINTY£L 195 

NOTES 209 

Bibliographic  Notes 276 

MELODIES 279 

INDEX 291 


163283 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATE 


I.    Navaho  Gods  as  represented  in  the  dry-paintings         .         Frontispiece 

II.    San  Francisco  Mountain,  Arizona 63 

III.  Distant  view  of  San  Mateo  Mountain,  New  Mexico    ....  76 

IV.  Nayenezgani 104 

V.    El  Cabezon 114 

VI.    Lava  flow  in  the  valley  of  the  San  Jose',  New  Mexico    ....  118 

VII.    7b'bad*rst.rfni 134 

FIGURE 

1.  Manuelito  (portrait) 3 

2.  Mariano  (portrait) 4 

3.  Jake  the  Silversmith  (portrait)     .........  5 

4.  Tanapa  (portrait)      ...........  6 

5.  Hadapa  (portrait) 7 

6.  Navaho  man  (portrait) .  9 

7.  Navaho  man  (portrait)          .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .10 

8.  Navaho  skull,  flattened  at  occiput  .         .         .         .        .        .        .         .  n 

9.  Navaho  baby-case  or  cradle        .         .         .         .        .         .         .        .         .12 

10.  Conical  lodge  with  storm-door         .         .         .         .         .         .         .        .  13 

11.  Hut  of  logs 14 

12.  Hut  built  partly  of  stone 15 

13.  Summer  houses 16 

14.  Medicine-lodge 16 

15.  Sudatory      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .17 

16.  Sacred  basket            .     • 18 

17.  Sacred  basket 19 

1 8.  Silver  ornaments      ...........  20 

19.  Woman  spinning          ...........  21 

20.  Ordinary  loom           .         .  *     .         .         .         .         .                  .         .         .  23 

21.  Loom  for  weaving  diagonal  cloth        ........  25 

22.  The  White  House 36 

23.  Talking  kethawn 39 

24.  Circle  kethawn          ...........  40 

25.  Kethawns  (sacrificial  sticks  and  cigarettes)  in  basket         .        .         .        -43 

26.  Mask  of  yucca 46 


viii  Illustrations. 

27.  Mask  of  //astreyal/i    ...........     47 

28.  Mask  of  yebaad  or  goddess 48 

29.  Picture  of  ji/ne'ole,  a  dry-painting  of  the  night  chant          .         .         .         .49 

30.  Alili  or  show  ("  dance  ")  of  the  nahikai 52 

31.  H2ita.li  Natldi  (portrait) 57 

32.  The  shaman  jYa/a/i  Nez  (Tall  Chanter)  (portrait)  ....         59 

33.  Trail  of  Estsanatlehi  (diagram) .148 

34.  Trail  of  turkey  approaching  his  master  (diagram) 171 

35.-  Trail  of  man  and  turkey  (diagram)      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .173 

36.  Ruin  in  the  Chaco  Canyon,  probably  Kintye'l 195 

37.  Circle  of  branches  of  the  rite  of  the  mountain  chant  ....  206 

38.  Natural  bridge,  near  Fort  Defiance,  Arizona  .         .         .  .         .       227 

39.  Yucca  baccata      ............  228 

40.  Drumstick  made  of  yucca  leaves     ........       229 

41.  Diagram  of  bow-symbol  on  left  leg  of  the  personator  of  Nayenezgani       .  253 

42.  Diagram  of  queue-symbol  on  left  leg  of  the  personator  of  Tb'bad-zistsini     253 

Map  of  the  Navaho  country i 


MAP   OF  THE  N 


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VAJO  COUNTRY 


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NAVAHO  LEGENDS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PREFATORY    REMARKS. 

1.  THE  legends  contained  in  this  book  are  those  of  the  Navaho1 
Indians,  a  tribe  living  in  the   southwestern  portion  of  the  United 
States  ;  mostly  in  the  Territories  of   New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  but 
partly  in  the  States  of  Colorado  and  Utah.     A  definite  reservation  of 
over  12,000  square  miles  has  been  set  apart  for  them  ;  but  in  every 
direction,  beyond  the  borders   of  this  reservation,  isolated  families 
and  small   bands   may  be  found  dwelling,  either  temporarily  or  per- 
manently, in  localities  where  there  are  springs,  streams,  pools,  or 
artificial  reservoirs  of  water.  -  Some  have  taken  up  homesteads  —  or 
have  otherwise  acquired  a  legal  title  to  lands  beyond  the  borders  of 
the  reservation  ;  others  are  merely  squatters.     A  brief  description 
of  these  Indians  —  their  arts,  religion,  ceremonies,  etc.  — is  included 
in  this  introduction,  in  the  belief  that,  if  the  reader  possesses  some 
knowledge  of  the  Navaho  before  he  begins  to  read  the  tales,  he  may 
have  a  better  understanding  of  the  latter.     But  much  more  informa- 
tion, of  interest  to  the  ethnographer,  will  be  found  in  notes.     Some 
items  in  the  introduction  could  not  properly  have  appeared  in  the 
notes,  as  there  was  nothing  in  the  tales  to  suggest  them.     Other 
items  might  perhaps  as  well  have  been  transferred  to  the  notes ;  the 
decision  to  put  them  in  the  introduction  was  often  arbitrary. 

2.  Title  of  Book. — In   selecting  a  title  for  this  book,  the  word 
Legends  was  chosen,  rather  than   Myths,  for  the   reason  that  the 
tales  contained  herein,  though  mostly  mythical,  are  not  altogether 
such.     In  the  Origin  Legend,  the  last  chapter,  "  The  Growth  of  the 
Navaho  Nation,"  is  in  part  traditional  or  historical,  and  it  is  even 
approximately  correct  in  many  of  its  dates,  as   has  been  shown  by 
Frederick  Webb  Hodge  in  his    paper  on  the   "  Early  Navaho  and 
Apache."301 

HOME    OF    THE    NAVAHOES. 

3.  The  land  which  the  Navahoes  occupy  is  arid,  though  not  an 
absolute  desert.      The   precipitation   at   an  altitude  of   7,000   feet 


2  Introduction. 

amounts  on  an  average  to  only  14. 10  inches  during  the  year  (at  lower 
altitudes  it  is  less,  at  higher  altitudes  greater),  and  this  is  gen- 
erally confined  to  two  short  seasons  of  moisture  separated  from 
one  another  by  months  of  absolute  drought,  which,  except  in  spe- 
cially favored  localities,  would  destroy  any  of  our  ordinary  field- 
crops.  But  there  are  small  spots,  far  apart,  where  irrigation  can 
be  practised,  and  there  are  other  places,  apparently  deserts,  which 
no  white  man  would  think  of  cultivating,  but  where  Indians  raise 
meagre  crops  of  corn,  squashes,  and  melons. 

4.  Soil.  —  He  who  stands  on  the  brow  of  the  mesa  at  the  Indian 
pueblo  of  Walpi,  in  Arizona,  may  unravel  one  secret  of  Indian  agri- 
culture in  the  arid  region,  and  learn  why  ancient  ruins  may  be  found 
in  the  most  desolate  parts.     Six  hundred  feet  below  him  stretches 
a  sandy  plain  which  at  most  seasons  of  the  year  seems  almost  an 
absolute  desert  ;   yet  in   summer  it  is  green  with  rows  of  dwarf 
corn.     Little  rain  falls  on  it  and  there  is  no  irrigation  ;  yet  the  corn 
grows  and  furnishes  a  return  which  repays  an  Indian,  at  least,  for 
his  labor.     Through  the  plain  runs  a  gully  which  at  certain  seasons 
drains  the  water  from  a  high  table-land  beyond.    The  water  does  not 
all  flow  off,  but  in  part  settles  under  the  sandy  surface,  and  keeps 
the  subsoil  moist  throughout  the  year.    By  planting  deep,  the  Indian 
farmers  reach  this  moist  subsoil,  and  place  their  seeds  where  the 
long  drought  cannot  destroy  them.     On  the  side  of  the  mesa,  peach- 
trees  flourish,  with   hidden   moisture   that   comes  out  between  the 
rocky  strata  at  the  mesa's  edge.     Localities  similar  to  those  de- 
scribed are  found  in   the  Navaho  land,  and  similarly  used  by  the 
Navaho  for  farms  and  peach  orchards.     The  myths  make  frequent 
allusions  to  such  farms  or  gardens. 

5.  A  few  fields  have  recently  been  made  by  white  men  in  the 
high  meadows  of  the  Zuni  Mountains  at  altitudes  above  8,000  feet, 
where  potatoes,  oats,  barley,  and  garden  vegetables  are  raised  with- 
out irrigation ;  but  farming  at  such  altitudes  was  never  tried  by  the 
Navahoes,  and  they  knew  nothing  of  cultivating  the  crops  named 
above.     Beside   their   aboriginal  crops,  they  have  for  a  long   time 
raised  a  little  wheat.     Potatoes  grow  wild  in  the  Navaho  country. 

6.  Mines.  —  Fortunately  for  the  Navahoes,  no  mines  of  precious 
metals  have  yet  been  discovered  on  their  reservation  ;  although  for 
years  past  rumors  of  such  discoveries  have  from  time  to  time  been 
circulated,  and  unwelcome  prospectors  have  frequently  invaded  their 
territory.     For   many  years    previous  to   1892  the  principal  attrac- 
tion lay  in  the  Carrizo  Mountains.2     A  legend  of  a  mine  called  the 
Lost  Adam,  and  of  miners  murdered  in  these  mountains,  had  cir- 
culated long  through  Colorado  mining  camps.      Troubles  between 
intruders  and  Indians  became  so  frequent  and  threatening  in  this 


Introduction. 


region  that  General 
McCook,  then  com- 
manding the  Depart- 
ment of  Arizona, 
which  included  the 
Navaho  reservation, 
determined  to  make 
an  expedition  and  set- 
tle, if  possible,  the 
question  of  the  exist- 
ence of  valuable  mines 
in  the  Carrizo  Moun- 
tains. A  commission, 
consisting  of  Gen.  A. 
McD.  McCook,  U.  S. 
A.,  ex-Gov.  John  L. 
Barstow  of  Vermont, 
and  Prof.  J.  G.  Allyn 
of  New  Mexico,  was 
appointed.  The  com- 
mission entered  the 
mountains  with  a 
mounted  escort  in 
May,  1892,  and  invited 
prospectors  who  had 
previously  visited  the 
region  to  come  and 
show  where  the  min- 
eral lay.  They  came, 
and  then  it  appeared 

they  had  staked  off  various  claims  and  given  them  felicitous  names 
such  as  the  western  miners  know  how  to  coin,  —  the  "  Lucky 
Bill,"  the  "  Boggy  Snoggy,"  etc.  Specimen  ores  were  collected 
from  every  point  where  they  were  seen,  and  submitted  to  careful 
expert  examination  ;  but  all  proved  worthless.  Some  fine  gold  has 
been  found  in  the  sands  of  the  San  Juan  River,3  within  the  Navaho 
reservation  ;  but  it  has  not  been  found  profitable  to  work  for  it. 

7.  Surface  —  Forests.  —  The  surface  of  the  country  over  which 
the  Navahoes  are  scattered  varies  in  altitude  from  4,000  feet,  or 
less,  in  the  valley  of  the  Colorado,  to  over  11,000  feet  in  the  high 
peaks  of  Tsisnad^i'ni,52  San  Mateo,54  San  Francisco,56  and  the  San 
Juan  58  range,  which  traditionally  border  their  land.  In  the  central 
and  more  thickly  inhabited  portion  the  highest  eminence  is  in  the 
Tuincha  Mountains,  9,575  feet.  The  average  altitude  is  about  6,000 


Fig.  i.     Manuelito. 


4  Introduction. 

feet.  The  country  consists  mostly  of  great  plains  and  of  plateaux 
or  mesas.  While  the  lower  levels,  except  in  the  bottom-lands  of 
the  constantly  flowing  rivers,  are  destitute  of  trees,  the  mesas,  at 
altitudes  of  from  6,000  to  7,000  feet,  are  well  covered  with  low 
forests  of  pifion  (Pinus  edulis),  red  cedar  (Juniperns  virginianus) 
and  juniper  (Juniperns  occidentalis}.  At  altitudes  of  7,000  feet 


Fig.  2.     Mariano. 

white  pine  (Pinus  ponderosd)  is  sparingly  found  ;  but  at  altitudes 
of  8,000  feet  or  more  it  grows  abundantly  and  attains  a  good  size. 
Spruce  (Pseudotsuga  taxi/olid]  -is  found  in  shaded  valleys,  and  on 
northern  hill-slopes  above  7,000  feet,  but  it  does  not  form  an  impor- 
tant part  of  the  forest.  It  is  an  essential  element  in  certain  rites. 
Cottonwood  (Populus  monolifera  and  P.  wislizenii),  aspen  (Popu- 
lus  tremuloides),  oak  (Quercus  gambellii),  oak-bark  juniper  (Juni- 
perus  pachyphloed),  and  other  trees  grow  less  abundantly. 


Introduction. 


8.  Pasturage —  Flocks   and  Herds.  —  While  the  Navaho  Indians 
cultivate  the  soil,  it  is  evident,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  they 
do  not  do  so  to  any  great  extent.     Their  crops  furnish  but  a  small 
part  of  their  subsistence.     But  their  sterile  country  is  fairly  well 
adapted  to  the  raising  of  sheep  and  goats.     These  form  their  chief 
food  supply,  and  the  former  their  principal  source  of  wealth.     With 
the  money  received  for  their  wool  they  purchase  flour  and  other 
provisions    from  the  white    traders,  as  well    as    various    articles  of 
luxury  and   utility.      They  possess  many  ponies  and  ride  a  great 
deal.     They  raise  a  few  neat  cattle. 

9.  As  domesticated  sheep  and  goats  were  unknown  in  America 
previous  to  the  discovery  by  Columbus,  and  were  unknown  in  New 
Mexico  previous  to  the  expedition  of  Coronado  in  A.  D.  1540,  it  fol- 
lows that  the  Navahoes  have  not  been    shepherds    for   many  cen- 
turies.    It  would   appear   from    their   legends  that  it  is  not  many 
years  since  they  have  become 

a  prosperous  and  wealthy  p 
people  (and  such  they  now 
are,  for  savages)  ;  that  in  old 
days  they  were  even  poor 
hunters  ;  and  that  they  lived 
largely  on  the  seeds  of  wild 
plants  and  on  small  animals 
that  they  caught  in  fall-traps. 
How  meagrely  they  were 
dressed  and  equipped  the 
legends  also  tell  us.  (See 
pars.  382,  384,  391.) 

POPULATION. 

TO.  No  exact  census  of  the 
tribe  has  ever  been  taken, 
and  it  would  not  now  be  an 
easy  task  to  take  one,  because 
the  Navahoes  are  scattered 
so  widely  and  over  such  a 
wild  and  rugged  territory. 
Their  low  huts,  built  in  tan- 
gled cedar-woods  or  in  re- 
gions of  scattered  rocks,  are 
often  so  obscurely  hidden 
that  one  may  ride  through  a 
cluster  of  a  dozen  inhabited 
houses  thinking  there  is  not 


tl 

Fig.  3.     Jake  the  Silversmith. 


i 


Introduction. 


Fig.  4.     Tanapa. 

an  Indian  within  ten  miles  of  him.  When  the  Navahoes  were 
held  in  captivity  at  Fort  Sumner,  New  Mexico,  from  1863  to  1867, 
they  depended  for  subsistence  mostly  on  rations  supplied  by  the 
United  States,  and  then  these  captives,  at  least,  could  be  accu- 
rately counted.  There  were  in  1867  7>3OO  in  captivity.298  Owing 
to  desertions  on  the  one  hand,  and  additional  surrenders  on  the 
other,  the  numbers  varied  from  time  to  time. 

ii.  But  while  the  majority  of  the  tribe  were  prisoners  of  war, 
it  is  well  known  that  all  were  not  captured  during  General  Car- 
son's invasion  in  1863,  Dut  that  many  still  roamed  at  large  while 
their  brethren  were  prisoners.  The  count  of  the  prisoners,  there- 
fore, does  not  show  the  strength  of  the  tribe. 


Introduction.  7 

12.  Perhaps  the  most  accurate  census  ever  taken  was  that  of 
1869.  "In  November  of  1869  a  count  was  made  of  the  tribe,  in 
order  to  distribute  among  them  30,000  head  of  sheep  and  2,000 
goats.  Due  notice  was  given  months  before,  and  the  tribe  was 
present.  The  Indians  were  all  put  in  a  large  corral,  and  counted 
as  they  went  in.  A  few  herders,  holding  the  small  herds  that  they 


Fig.  5.     Hadapa  (from  photograph  by  J.  K.  Killers). 

had  then  bunched  on  the  surrounding  hills,  were  not  in  the  corral. 
The  result  of  this  count  showed  that  there  were  less  than  9,000 
Navahoes  all  told,  making  a  fair  allowance  for  all  who  had  failed  to 
come  in.  At  that  time  everything  favored  getting  a  full  count ; 
rations  were  issued  to  them  every  four  days  ;  they  had  but  little 
stock,  and,  in  addition  to  the  issue  of  the  sheep  and  goats,  there 
were  also  two  years'  annuities  to  be  given  out.  The  season  of  the 


8  Introduction. 

year  was  favorable,  the  weather  fine,  and  they  were  all  anxious  to 
get  the  sheep  and  goats  and  annuities."268 

13.  In  1890  a  count  of  these  Indians  was  made  as  a  part  of  the 
Eleventh  Census  of  the  United  States.297     Before  the  count  was 
begun,  the  writer  was  informed  by  one  of  the  enumerators  that  the 
plan  to  be  employed  was  this  :  The  Navaho  country  was  to  be  divided 
into  a  number  of  districts,  and  a  special  enumerator  was  to  be  sent  to 
each  district  at  the  same  time  to  visit  each  hut  and  take  the  number 
of  each  family.     Whether  this  method  was  carried  out,  the  report  of 
the  Eleventh  Census  does  not  tell  us.    But  this  plan,  while  probably 
the  best  that  could  be  employed  at  the  time  with  the  means  allotted, 
was  very  imperfect  and  admitted  of  numerous  sources   of  error,  of 
which  two  may  be  specified.     Many  huts  might  easily  be   passed 
unnoticed,  for  reasons  already  given,  and  this  would  make  the   enu- 
meration too  low.     Many  families  might  easily  have  been  counted  in 
more  than  one  district,  for  the  Navaho  frequently  shifts  his  abode, 
and  this  would  make  the  count  too  high.     The  result  of  this  enu- 
meration was  to  give  the  tribe  a  population  of  17,204  for  that  year. 
White  men,  living  in  the  Navaho  country  at  the  time,  generally  con- 
sidered the  estimate  excessive.     If  the  count  of   1869  be  approx- 
imately correct,  that  of   1890  is  probably  not.     It  is  not  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  by  natural   increase  alone  —  and  no  other  source  of 
increment    is   known  —  the    tribe    should   have   nearly   doubled    in 
twenty-one   years.      It  would  require   birth-rates  much  higher  and 
death-rates  much  lower  than  those  commonly  found  in  Indian  tribes 
to  double  the  population  in  that   time.     The  Indian  mother  is  not 
prolific. 

14.  The  Navahoes  say  that  during  their  captivity  they  had  much 
sickness  and  diminished  in  numbers  ;  but  nothing  has  been  found  in 
official  reports  to  corroborate  such  statements.     All  who  have  any 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  Navahoes  agree  that  they  have  increased 
rapidly  since  they  were  restored  to  their  ancient  homes   in  1869. 
During  nearly  fifteen  years  that  the  author  has  had  opportunity  to 
observe  them,  he  has  noticed  no  marked  signs  of  physical  degenera- 
tion among  them.    Their  general  health  and  their  power  of  resisting 
disease  appeared  about  as  good  in  1894  as  in  1880.     Consumption 
and  scrofula,  those  greatest  enemies  of  our  reservation  Indians,  have 
not  yet  begun  to  trouble  the  Navahoes.     The''          -e  from  the  rude 
hut    to   the   close   stone   house,  which   is  rapid1        >ing  on  among 
this  people,  is  likely  to  affect  their  health  in  ttu,   .uture,  and  prob- 
ably not  for   the   better.      Fortunately  for   them    thev  have    little 
fancy  for   stoves,  but    prefer   open  fireplaces  \  such  2;       e  Pueblos 
and  Mexicans  use.     In  the  year  1888,  while  the  -"r        u 

from    New  Mexico,  they  had   an  epidemic  of   throat-r        ase? 


Introduction.  9 

precise  character  of  which  has  not  been  ascertained.  They  say 
that  about  800  people  died  that  winter.  During  the  winter  of 
1894-95  they  suffered  from  scarcity  of  food,  —  an  unusual  experi- 
ence for  them,  and  the  government  had  to  assist  them.  An  in- 
creased mortality  ensued,  which  undoubtedly  would  have  been  much 


Fig.  6.     Navaho  man  (from  photograph  by  J.  K.  Killers). 

greater  had  it  not   been    for    the    prompt    action    of   their   agent, 
Maj.  Constant  W  j,  U.  S.  A.,  in  securing  supplies  for  them. 


.IAL    AFFINITY APPEARANCE. 


15.  The  Navahoes  are  usually  regarded  by  ethnologists  as  be- 
ing, by  blood  ^s  well  as  by  language,  of  the  Dene  or  Athapascan 
stock,  and  sue  probably,  they  are  in  the  main.  But  their  Origin 
Legend  represents  them  as  a  very  mixed  race,  containing  ele- 


10 


Introduction. 


Fig.  7.     Navaho  man  (from  photograph  by  Hillers). 


ments  of  Zunian  and  other  Pueblo  stocks,  of  Shoshonian  and 
Yuman,  and  the  appearance  of  the  people  seems  to  corroborate  the 
legend.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  general  or  prevailing  Navaho 
type.  The  people  vary  much  in  feature  and  stature.  Every  variety 
of  Indian  face  and  form  may  be  seen  among  them,  —  tall  men  with 
aquiline  noses  and  prominent  features,  such  as  we  find  among  the 
Crows  and  Dakotas ;  dwarfish  men  with  subdued  features,  such  as 
we  see  among  the  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  every 
intermediate  variety. 

1 6.  The  countenances  of  the  Navahoes  are,  as  a  rule,  intelligent 
and  expressive ;  some  are  stern  and  angry,  some  pleasant  and 
smiling,  others  calm  and  thoughtful  ;  but  seldom  are  any  seen 
that  are  dull  and  stupid.  These  characteristics  are  to  be  noted 
among  the  women  as  well  as  among  the  men.  The  social  position 


Introduction.  1 1 

of  the  Navaho  women  is  one  of  great  independence ;  much  of  the 
wealth  of  the  nation  belongs  to  them  ;  they  are  the  managers  of 
their  own  property,  the  owners  of  their  own  children,  and  their  free- 
dom lends  character  to  their  physiognomies. 

PORTRAITS. 

17.  Fig.  i  is  a  picture  of  Manuelito,  who  for  many  years  was 
the  most  influential  chief  among  the  Navahoes.  Latterly  he  lost 
much  of  his  influence  in  consequence  of  his  intemperate  habits, 
though  he  was  regarded  as  a  sage  counsellor  till  the  time*  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1893.  When  he  was  gone,  an  old  In- 
dian, announcing  his  death  to  the  writer,  said  :  "  We  are  now  a 
people  without  eyes,  without  ears,  without  a  mind."  Fig.  2  repre- 
sents another  chief  of  much  influence  named  Mariano,  who  also 


Fig.  8.     Navaho  skull,  flattened  at  occiput.     Hyperbrachycephalic. 
Length-breadth  index,  96.93. 

became  addicted  to  drink  in  his  old  age  and  died  in  1893.  Fig. 
3  shows  a  very  intelligent  and  trustworthy  Indian,  a  silversmith, 
known  as  Jake  among  the  whites,  but  called  by  the  Navahoes 
Naltsos  Nigehani,  or  Paper-carrier,  because  in  his  youth  he  was 
employed  as  a  mail-carrier  between  Forts  Wingate  and  Defiance. 
He  it  was  who  communicated  to  the  author  version  B  306  of  the  Ori- 
gin Legend.  He  practised  a  short  medicine  rite,  was  an  adept  in 
singing  sacred  songs,  and  often  led  in  song  in  the  great  rites.  His 


12 


Introduction. 


silver-work  was  in  great  demand,  and  he  worked  hard  at  his  trade. 
In  1894  he  accompanied  a  circus  through  the  Eastern  States,  with 
his  workshop  as  a  side-show;  but  the  journey  proved  too  much 
for  him  —  he  died  of  heart  disease  on  his  return  to  New  Mexico. 
Fig.  4  is  a  portrait  of  a  Navaho  woman  named  T^anapa,  who  took 

her  hair  out  of  braid  preparatory 
to  standing  before  the  camera. 
Fig.  5  is  a  woman  named  Hadapa, 
whose  smiling  face  is  introduced 
as  a  contrast  to  the  stern  brow  of 
Tanapa.  Figs.  6  and  7  are  Navaho 
men  whose  names  have  not  been 
recorded.  The  expressions  of  their 
faces  are  in  marked  contrast. 

CRANIA. 

1 8.  As  a  rule  the  crania  of  the 
Navahoes  are  brachycephalic,  and 
very  few  are  dolichocephalic.  The 
shortening  seems  to  be  due  to  a 
flattening  in  the  occipital  region 
(fig.  8).  The  author  is  of  opinion 
that  this  is  caused  by  the  use  of 
the  baby -case,  with  a  hard,  un- 
yielding wooden  back  (fig.  9),  in 
which  the  Navaho  women  carry 
their  infants.  This  flattening  of 
the  Navaho  occiput  has  been  the 
subject  of  some  controversy.  It 
is  true  that  the  cradle  is  padded  to  a  slight  extent ;  but  the  padding 
consists  of  the  bark  of  the  cliff  rose  (Cowania  mexicanci},  called  by 
the  Navaho  awetsal,  or  baby-bed,  which  forms  a  rather  rigid  pillow. 
True,  again,  when  the  baby  is  carried  on  the  mother's  back,  its 
head  often  hangs  forward  and  does  not  come  in  contact  with  the 
back  of  the  cradle  or  the  pillow  ;  but  most  of  the  time  the  child 
lies  on  its  back,  and  its  tender  occiput  is  subjected  to  deforming 
pressure. 

LANGUAGE. 

19.  The  language  of  the  Navaho  undoubtedly  belongs  in  the 
main  to  the  Athapascan  family.  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft,  in  his 
"  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States  "  (vol.  iii.  p.  58s),292  tells  us 
that  the  Athapascans  or  "Tinneh"  are  "a  people  whose  diffusion 
is  only  equalled  by  that  of  the  Aryan  or  Semitic  nations  of  the 


Fig  9.   Navaho  baby-case  or  cradle 
(after  Mason). 


Introduction.  1 3 

Old  World.  The  dialects  of  the  Tinneh  language  are  by  no  means 
confined  within  the  limits  of  the  hyperborean  division.  Stretch- 
ing from  the  northern  interior  of  Alaska  down  into  Sonora  and 
Chihuahua,  we  have  here  a  linguistic  line  of  more  than  four  thou- 
sand miles  in  length,  extending  diagonally  over  forty-two  degrees 
of  latitude,  like  a  great  tree  whose  trunk  is  the  Rocky  Mountain 
range,  whose  roots  encompass  the  deserts  of  Arizona  and  New  Mex- 
ico, and  whose  branches  touch  the  borders  of  Hudson  Bay  and  of 
the  Arctic  and  Pacific  Oceans."  But  the  Origin  Legend  declares 
it  is  a  mixed  language  (par.  395),  and  it  is  but  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  such  a  composite  race  cannot  possess  a  very  pure  Ian- 


_  ;' 

UK    «*-*. 


Fig.  10.     Conical  lodge  with  storm-door  (from  photograph  by  James  Mooney). 

guage.  The  various  accessions  to  the  tribe  from  other  stocks  have 
probably  added  many  words  of  alien  origin.  What  these  additions 
are  is  not  now  known,  and  will  not  be  known  until  all  the  languages 
of  the  Southwest  have  been  thoroughly  studied. 

HOUSES. 

20.  The  habitations  of  the  Navahoes  are  usually  of  a  very  simple 
character.  The  most  common  form  consists  of  a  conical  frame, 
made  by  setting  up  a  number  of  sticks  at  an  angle  of  about  forty- 
five  degrees.  An  opening  is  left  on  one  side  of  the  cone  to 


1 4  Introduction. 

answer  as  a  doorway.  The  frame  is  covered  with  weeds,  bark,  or 
grass,  and  earth,  except  at  the  apex,  where  the  smoke  from  the 
fire  in  the  centre  of  the  floor  is  allowed  to  escape.  In  the  door- 
way an  old  blanket  hangs,  like  a  curtain,  in  place  of  a  door.  But 
the  opening  of  the  door  is  not  a  simple  hiatus,  as  many  descrip- 
tions would  lead  one  to  suppose.  A  cross-piece,  forming  a  lintel, 
connects  the  jambs  at  a  convenient  height,  and  the  triangular  space 
between  the  lintel  and  the  smoke-hole  is  filled  in  as  shown  in  fig. 
10.  A  picture  in  Schoolcraft's  extensive  work327  (vol.  iii.  plate  17) 
is  intended  to  represent  a  Navaho  lodge  ;  but  it  appears  to  have 
been  drawn  by  Captain  Eastman  from  an  imperfect  description. 
In  this  picture  the  doorway  is  shown  as  extended  up  and  continuous 
with  the  smoke-hole. 

21.  Some  lodges  are  made  of  logs  in  a  polygonal  form,  as  shown 
in  fig.   ii.      Again  they  are  occasionally  built  partly  of  stone,  as 
shown  in  fig.    12.      In  cold  weather  a  small  storm-door  or  portico 
is  often  erected  in  front    of   the   door  (fig.   10),  and  an  outer  and 
an  inner  curtain  may  be  hung  to  more  effectually  keep  out  the  wind. 

22.  Shelters.  —  Contiguous  to  the  hut,  the  Navaho  usually  con- 
structs a  rude  shelter  of  branches.    Here,  in  fair  weather,  the  family 


Introduction. 


Fig.  12.     Hut  built  partly  of  stone. 

often  cook  and  spend  most  of  the  day.  Here,  too,  tne  women  erect 
their  looms  and  weave  or  set  out  their  metates  and  grind  corn, 
and  some  even  choose  to  sleep  here.  Such  a  "  corral  "  is  shown  in 
fig.  12. 

23.  Summer  Houses.  —  In   summer  they  often  occupy  structures 
more    simple   than  even  the  hut  described  above.     Fig.   13  repre- 
sents a  couple  of  summer  houses  in  the  Zuni  Mountains.     A  struc- 
ture of  this  kind  is  built  in  a  few  hours.     A  couple  of  forked  sticks 
are  set  upright  in  the  ground  ;  slanting  poles  are  laid  against  this 
in   the   direction    of    the    prevailing  winds,  so   as  to  form  a  wind- 
break, half  wall  and  half  roof,  and  this  is  covered  with  grass,  weeds, 
and  earth.     The  ends  may  be  similarly  inclosed,  or  may  be  merely 
covered    in  with    evergreen    branches.     One    side  of   the   house  is 
completely  open.     In  fig.  13   a  loom  is  shown  set  up  for  work  in 
one  of  these   rude  structures,  the  aboriginal  appearance  of  which 
is  somewhat  marred  by  having  a  piece  of  old  canvas  lying  on  top. 

24.  Medicine-lodges.  —  The  medicine-lodges,  when  erected  in  re- 
gions where  long  poles  may  be  cut,  are  usually  built   in  the  form  of 
the  ordinary  hogans  (huts),  though  of  much  greater  size  (fig.  14). 
When  these  large  lodges  are  constructed  at  low  altitudes,  where  only 
stunted  trees  grow,  they  are  built   on  a  rude  frame  with  walls  and 
roof  separate,  somewhat  on  the  same  plan  as  the  lodges  formerly 


i6 


Introduction. 


Fig.  13.     Summer  houses. 

used  by  the  Arickarees,  Mandans,  and  other  tribes  on  the  Missouri, 
and  seeming  a  connecting  link  between  the  Navaho  hogan  and  the 
Mandan  earth-lodge.184  4, 

25.  Sweat-houses.  —  The  sweat-house  or  sudatory  is  a  diminutive 
form  of  the  ordinary  hogan  or  hut  as  described  in  par.  20,  except  that 
it  has  no  smoke-hole  (for  fire  is  never  kindled  in  it),  neither  has  it  a 
storm-door.  It  is  sometimes  sunk  partly  underground  and  is  always 
thickly  covered  with  earth.  Stones  are  heated  in  a  fire  outside  and 
carried,  with  an  extemporized  tongs  of  sticks,  into  the  sudatory. 


Fig.  14.     Medicine-lodge. 


Introduction.  1 7 

Fig.  15  poorly  represents  one  of  these  structures.  When  cere- 
monially used,  the  frame  is  constructed  of  different  materials  for 
different  ceremonies,  and  the  house  is  sometimes  decorated  with  dry- 
paintings.82 

26.  Modern  Houses,  —  During  the  past  ten  years,  a  few  of  the 
more  progressive  Navahoes  have  built  themselves  rectangular  stone 
houses,  with  flat  roofs,  glazed  windows,  wooden  doors,  and  regular, 
chimneys,  such  as  their  neighbors,  the  Mexicans  and  Pueblo  Indians, 
build.  They  have  had  before  them,  for  centuries,  examples  of  such 
houses,  and  they  are  an  imitative  and  docile  people.  The  reason  they 


Fig.  15.     Sudatory. 

have  not  copied  at  an  earlier  date  is  probably  a  superstitious  reason. 
They  believe  a  house  haunted  or  accursed  in  which  a  human  being 
dies.91  They  abandon  it,  never  enter  it  again,  and  usually  destroy  it. 
With  such  a  superstition  prevailing,  they  hesitate  to  build  permanent 
dwellings.  Perhaps  of  late  years  the  superstition  is  becoming  weak- 
ened, or  they  have  found  some  mystic  way  of  averting  the  supposed 
evil. 


1 8  Introduction. 

ARTS. 

27.  The  arts  of  the  Navahoes  are  not  numerous.     They  make  a 
very  rude   and   inartistic   pottery,  —  vastly  inferior  to  that  of   the 
neighboring  Pueblo  tribes, — and  they  make  but  little  of  it.     Their 
bows  and  arrows  are  not  equal  to  those  of  the  northern  Indians, 
and,   since   they   have    both    money  and   opportunity  to   purchase 
modern  firearms,  bows  and  arrows  are  falling  into  disuse.     They 
do  not  consider  themselves  very  expert  dressers  of  deerskin,  and 
purchase  their  best  buckskins  from  other  tribes.     The  women  do 
very  little  embroidery,   either  with  beads  or  porcupine-quills,  and 
this  little  is  unskilfully  done.      The  legends  indicate  that  in  former 
days  they  stole  or  purchased  embroideries  from  the  Utes. 

28.  Basketry. — They   make   excellent    baskets,    but  very  few  of 
them,  and   have  a  very  limited  range  of   forms  and  patterns.     In 
developing  their  blanket-making  to  the  highest  point  of  Indian  art, 
the  women  of   this  tribe  have  neglected  other  labors.     The  much 
ruder   but  allied  Apaches,  who  know  nothing  of  weaving  woollen 
fabrics,  make  more  baskets  than  the  Navahoes,  and  make  them  in 
much   greater  variety  of  form,  color,  and  quality.     The  Navahoes 
buy  most  of  their  baskets  and  wicker  water-jars  from  other  tribes. 


Fig.  1 6.     Sacred  basket. 


Introduction. 


Fig.  17.     Sacred  basket. 


They  would  possibly  lose  the  art  of  basketry  altogether  if  they 
did  not  require  certain  kinds  to  be  used  in  the  rites,  and  only 
women  of  the  tribe  understand  the  special  requirements  of  the 
rites.  Figs.  16  and  17  show  the  patterns  of  baskets  almost  exclu- 
sively made.  These  are  used  in  ceremonies,  and  are  called  by  the 
author  sacred  baskets.  A  further  description  of  them  is  given  in  a 
note.5 

29.  Silver-work.  —  There  are  a  few  silversmiths  in  the  tribe,  whose 
work,  considering  the  rudeness  of  their  tools  and  processes,  is  very 
artistic.     It  is  much  sought  after  by  white  people,  who  admire  its 
rude  beauty.     Probably  the  art  of  the  smith  has  not  existed  long 
among    the    Navahoes.      In    a    treatise    entitled    "  Navajo     Silver- 
smiths,"307  the  author  described  the  art  as  it  existed  in  1881  ;  but 
the  work  has   improved    since    that    time  with  the  introduction  of 
better   tools.     Then  the  smith    built  his  forge  on  the  ground  and 
squatted  to  do  his  work ;  now  he  builds  it  on  an  elevated    frame 
(fig.  10),  and  sits  on  a  stool  or  chair  to  work.     Fig.  18  represents 
silver  ornaments  made  by  Jake  in  1881. 

30.  Weaving.  —  It  is  in  the  art  of  weaving   that    the  Navahoes 


20 


Introduction. 


excel  all  other  Indians  within  the  borders  of  the  United  States. 
In  durability,  fineness  of  finish,  beauty  of  design,  and  variety  of 
pattern,  the  Navaho  blanket  has  no  equal  among  the  works  of  our 
aborigines.  The  author  has  written  a  treatise  on  "  Navajo  Wea- 
vers,"309 in  which  he  describes  their  art  as  it  existed  some  thirteen 
years  ago.  But  since  that  treatise  was  written  the  art  has  changed. 
It  has  improved  in  one  respect  :  an  important  new  invention  has 
been  made  or  introduced,  —  a  way  of  weaving  blankets  with  dif- 
ferent designs  on  opposite  sides.  It  has  deteriorated  in  another 
respect  :  fugitive  aniline  dyes,  purchased  from  the  traders,  have 
taken  the  place  of  the  permanent  native  dyes  formerly  used.  In 
the  finer  blankets,  yarn  obtained  from  white  traders  has  supplanted 
the  yarn  laboriously  twilled  on  the  old  distaff.  Navaho  blankets 
are  represented  in  figs.  I,  2,  5,  6,  7,  and  12. 


Fig.  18.     Silver  ornaments.     Powder-chargers,  hollow  beads,  buttons,  bracelets. 

31.  The  Navahoes  weave  diagonal  cloth  and  diamond-shaped 
diagonals,  and  to  do  this  a  change  is  made  in  the  mechanism  of 
their  simple  looms.  They  weave  belts  or  sashes,  garters  and  saddle- 
girths,  and  these  articles,  too,  require  changes  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  looms  and  in  the  methods  of  weaving.  Fig.  20  represents 
an  ordinary  loom,  with  one  set  of  healds.  Fig.  21  represents  a 
loom  arranged  for  weaving  diagonal  cloth  with  two  sets  of  healds. 
Fig.  4  shows  a  woman  wearing  a  belt  of  native  manufacture.  The 
women  depicted  in  figs.  5  and  21  wear  dresses  of  Navaho  cloth. 


Introduction. 


21 


Fig.  19.     Woman  spinning. 


32.  It  is  not  only  for  gain  that  the  Navaho  woman  weaves  her 
blanket.     Having  worn  it  for  a  time,  until  it  has  lost  its  novelty, 
she  may  sell  it  for  a  price  that    scarcely  pays    her   for    the   yarn. 
One  who  possesses  large  herds,  and  is  wealthy  for  an  Indian,  will 
weave  as  assiduously  as  her  poorest  neighbor.     At  best,  the  labor 
brings  low  wages.     The  work  is  done,  to  no  small  extent,  for  artistic 
recreation,  just  as  the  females  of  our  own  race  embroider  and  do 
"  fancy  work  "  for  mere  pastime. 

33.  Knitting.  --They  knit  stockings  with  four  needles,  but  these 
stockings  are  devoid  of  heels  and  toes.     As  the  needles  now  used 
are  of  wire  and  obtained  from  the  whites,  it  might  be  thought  that 
the  art  of  knitting  was  learned  from  our  people  ;  but  knitted  leg- 
gings, made  of  human  hair,  and  wooden  knitting-needles,  have  been 
found  in  the  Navaho  land,  in  cliff-dwellings  which,  there  is  reason 
to  believe,  were  abandoned  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards. 


22  Introduction. 

INDUSTRY. 

34.  It  cannot  be  said  of  the  Navaho  men,  as  it  is  often  said  of 
the  men  of  other  Indian  tribes,  that  they  are  either  too  proud  or 
too  lazy  to  perform  manual  labor.     They  are,  and  apparently  always 
have  been,  willing  to  do  any  remunerative  work.     When  the  Atlan- 
tic and  Pacific  Railroad  was  constructed  near  their  reservation,  in 
1 88 1,  much  of  the  grading  was    done   by  Navaho  laborers.      The 
white  men    who  worked  with    them,  and   who    had    the    strongest 
antipathy  to  Chinese   laborers,   said   that    they  liked   the    Indians 
because  they  were  good  comrades  on  the  work  and  kept  up  prices. 
A  stalwart  man  is  not  ashamed  to  wash  and   iron  clothes  for  wages, 
which  he  may  want  only  to  spend  in  gambling.     They  have  been 
employed  at  Fort  Wingate  to  dig  cellars   and  make  adobes,  and  at 
the  latter  work  proved  themselves  more  expert  than  the  more  expe- 
rienced men  of  Zuni. 

35.  Begging,  which  among  other  tribes  is  so  often  annoying  to  the 
white  man,  is   little  practised   by  the  Navahoes.     The  few  who  have 
ever  begged  from  the  author  persuaded  themselves  that  they  had 
some  claim  on  him.     On  the  whole,  they  are  a  self-supporting  peo- 
ple, and  add  to  the  wealth  of  the  community  at  large.     But  little 
government  aid  has  been  given  them  since  they  were  released  from 
captivity  and^supplied  with  stock  in  return  for  that  slaughtered  by 
our  troops  when  their  land  was  invaded. 

POETRY    AND    MUSIC. 

36.  For  many  years   the  most  trusted   account   of   the   Navaho 
Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  was  to  be  found  in  a  letter 
written  by  Dr.  Jonathan  Letherman,303  of  the  army,  and  published 
in  the  Smithsonian  report  for  1855.     Dr.  Letherman  had  lived  three 
years  at  Fort  Defiance,  in  the  heart  of  the  Navaho  country,  when 
he   wrote   this   letter,  and  he  acknowledges    his   indebtedness,  for 
assistance   in    preparing   it,    to    Major    Kendrick,    who    long    com- 
manded Fort  Defiance.     Both  the  doctor  and  the  major  were  men 
of  unusual  ability.     The    former  (having  changed  the  spelling  of 
his  name  to  Letterman)  afterwards  distinguished  himself  as  medi- 
cal director  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  latter  was,  for 
many  years,  professor  of  chemistry  at  the  National  Military  Acad- 
emy. 

37.  From  this  letter  the  following  statement  concerning  the  Nava- 
hoes is  extracted  :  "  Of   their   religion  little  or  nothing  is  known, 
as,  indeed,  all  inquiries  tend  to  show  that  they  have  none."     "The 
lack  of  tradition  is  a  source  of  surprise.     They  have  no  knowledge 
of  their  origin  or  of  the  history  of   the  tribe."     "  They  have  fre- 


Introduction.  2  3 

quent  gatherings  for  dancing."     "Their  singing  is  but  a  succession 
of  grunts,  and  is  anything  but  agreeable." 

38.  The  evidence  of  these  gentlemen,  one  would  think,  might 
be  taken  as  conclusive.  Yet,  fifteen  years  ago,  when  the  author 
first  found  himself  among  the  Navahoes,  he  was  not  influenced  in 
the  least  by  the  authority  of  this  letter.  Previous  experience  with 
the  Indians  had  taught  him  of  how  little  value  such  negative  evi- 
dence might  be,  and  he  began  at  once  to  investigate  the  religion, 


Fig.  20.     Ordinary  loom. 

traditions,  and  poetic  literature,  of  which,  he  was  assured,  the  Nava- 
hoes were  devoid. 

39.  He  had  not  been  many  weeks  in  New  Mexico  when  he  dis- 
covered that  the  dances  to  which  Dr.  Letherman  refers  were  reli- 
gious ceremonials,  and  later  he  found  that  these  ceremonials  might 
vie  in   allegory,   symbolism,  and  intricacy  of  ritual  with  the  cere- 
monies   of  any  people,  ancient   or   modern.      He   found,   erelong, 
that  these  heathens,  pronounced  godless  and  legendless,  possessed 
lengthy  myths  and  traditions  —  so  numerous  that  one  can  never  hope 
to  collect  them  all,  a  pantheon  as  well  stocked  with  gods  and  heroes 
as  that  of  the  ancient   Greeks,  and  prayers  which,  for  length  and 
vain  repetition,  might  put  a  Pharisee  to  the  blush. 

40.  But  what  did  the  study  of  appalling  "  succession  of  grunts  " 
reveal  ?     It  revealed  that  besides  improvised  songs,  in  which  the 
Navahoes  are  adepts,  they  have  knowledge  of  thousands  of  signifi- 


24  Introduction. 

cant  songs  —  or  poems,  as  they  might  be  called  — which  have  been 
composed  with  care  and  handed  down,  for  centuries  perhaps,  from 
teacher  to  pupil,  from  father  to  son,  as  a  precious  heritage,  through- 
out the  wide  Navaho  nation.  They  have  songs  of  travelling,  appro- 
priate to  every  stage  of  the  journey,  from  the  time  the  wanderer 
leaves  his  home  until  he  returns.  They  have  farming  songs,  which 
refer  to  every  stage  of  their  simple  agriculture,  from  the  first  view 
of  the  planting  ground  in  the  spring  to  the  "  harvest  home."  They 
have  building  songs,6  which  celebrate  every  act  in  the  structure  of 
the  hut,  from  "  thinking  about  it"  to  moving  into  it  and  lighting  the 
first  fire.  They  have  songs  for  hunting,  for  war,  for  gambling,  in 
short  for  every  important  occasion  in  life,  from  birth  to  death,  not 
to  speak  of  prenatal  and  post-mortem  songs.  And  these  songs  are 
composed  according  to  established  (often  rigid)  rules,  and  abound 
in  poetic  figures  of  speech. 

41.  Sacred  Songs.  —  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  their  metri- 
cal compositions  are  those  connected  with  their  sacred  rites,  —  their 
religious  songs.     These  rites  are  very  numerous,  many  of  them  of 
nine  days'  duration,  and  with  each  is  associated  a  number  of  appro- 
priate songs.     Sometimes,  pertaining  to  a  single  rite,  there  are  two 
hundred  songs  or  more  which  may  not  be  sung  at  other  rites. 

42.  The  songs  must  be  known   to   the  priest  of  the  rite  and  his 
assistants  in  a  most  exact  manner,  for  an  error  made  in   singing  a 
song  may  be  fatal  to  the  efficacy  of  a  ceremony.     In  no  case  is  an 
important  mistake  tolerated,  and  in  some  cases  the  error  of  a  single 
syllable  works  an  irreparable  injury.     A  noteworthy  instance  of  this 
rule  is  a  song  sung  at  the  beginning  of  work  on  the  last  night  of  the 
great  ceremony  of  the  night  chant.     The  rite  is  one  which  may  cost 
the  patron  from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  dollars.    It  has  lasted 
eight   days   and  nights,  when  four  singers,   after  long  and   careful 
instruction  by  the  priest,  come   forth   painted,  adorned,  and  masked 
as  gods  to  sing  this  song  of  the  atsa'/ei.     Several  hundred  people  — 
many  from  the  farthest   confines  of  the   Navaho  land  —  have   come 
to  sit  up  all  night  and  witness  the  public  ceremonies.     The  song  is 
long,  and  is  mostly  made  up  of  meaningless  or  obsolete  expressions 
which  convey  no  idea  to  the   mind  of   the  singer,  yet  not  a  single 
vocable  may  be  omitted,  mispronounced,  or  misplaced.     A  score  or 
more  of  critics  who  know  the   song  by   heart   are   listening  with 
strained  attention.     If  the  slightest  error  is  made  it  is  at  once  pro- 
claimed, the  fruitless   ceremony  terminates  abruptly,  and  the  disap- 
pointed multitude  disperses. 

,  43.  The  songs  all  contain  significant  words  ;  but  these,  for  poetic 
requirements,  are  often  greatly  distorted,  and  the  distortions  must 
be  kept  in  mind.  In  speaking  thus,  scant  justice  is  done  to  the 


Introduction.  25 

Navaho  poets.  Similar  distortions  found  in  an  Aryan  tongue  with 
a  written  literature  are  spoken  of  as  figures  of  orthography  and 
etymology,  and,  although  there  is  yet  no  standard  of  spelling  for 
the  Navaho  language,  we  would  perhaps  do  well  to  apply  the  same 
terms  in  speaking  of  the  Navaho  compositions.  The  distortions  are 
not  always  left  to  the  whim  of  the  composer.  They  are  made  sys- 
tematically, as  a  rule.  If  the  language  were  reduced  to  a  standard 
spelling,  we  should  find  that  the  Navaho  poets  have  as  many  figures 
of  these  classes  as  the  English  poets  have,  and  perhaps  more. 

44.  Some  of  the  words,  too,  are  archaic,  —  they  mean  nothing  in 
modern  Navaho  ;  but  the  priests  assign  traditional  meanings  to  them, 
and  this  adds  to  the  task  of  memorizing.  But,  in  addition  to  the 
significant  words,  there  are  (as  instanced  above)  numerous  mean- 
ingless vocables  in  all  songs,  and  these  must  be  recited  with  a  care 
at  least  equal  to  that  bestowed  on  the  rest  of  the  composition. 


Fig.  21.     Loom  for  weaving  diagonal  cloth. 

These  meaningless  sounds  are  commonly  introduced  in  the  pre- 
ludes and  refrains  of  the  stanzas  and  in  the  verse  endings,  but 
they  may  occur  anywhere  in  the  song. 

45.  The  preludes  and  refrains  here  referred  to  are  found,  with 
rare  exceptions,  in  every  stanza  and  in  every  song.  Although  they 
are  all  either  totally  meaningless  or  only  partly  significant,  they 
are  the  most  characteristic  parts  of  the  poems,  and  the  singer  cons 
the  preludes  over  when  he  wishes  to  call  to  mind  any  particular 
composition,  just  as  we  often  remember  a  poem  or  song  by  means 
of  the  first  line.  They  are  rarely  or  never  quite  alike  in  any 


26  Introduction. 

two  songs,  and  great  ingenuity  is   often  displayed  in  giving  them 
variety. 

46.  There  is  yet  another   burden    laid   on    the  memory  of   the 
singer  of  sacred  songs,  and  this  is  the  order  of  their  arrangement. 
The  songs  of  each  ceremony  are  divided  into  groups  which  must 
follow  one  another  in  an  established  order,  and  each  song  has,  in 
the  group  to  which  it  belongs,  a  place  that  must  not  be  changed 
under  penalty  of  divine  displeasure.     To  sing,  during  the  progress 
of  a  rite,  the  sixth    Song  of   the  Whirling  Sticks  before  the  fifth 
song  is  sung,  would  be  a  sacrilege  as  great  as  to  chant  the  sylla- 
bles ohohoho,  in  place  of  ehehehe.     To  remember  this  exact  order 
of  sequence  in  a  set  of  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  songs  is  no 
easy  task.322 

47.  But  it  may  be  said  :  "  Perhaps  things  were  different  with  the 
Navahoes  in  Dr.  Letherman's    day.      May  they  not   have    learned 
from  other  tribes,  or  have  themselves   invented  all  this   ceremony 
and  song  since  he  knew  them  ? "     The  reply  to  this  is,  that  it  is 
absurd  to  suppose  that  such  an  elaborate  system  of  rites  and  songs 
could  have  grown  up  among  an  illiterate  people  in  the  twenty-five 
years  that  elapsed  between    Dr.   Letherman's    departure   from  the 
Navaho  country  and  the  author's  arrival  there.     Besides,  the  latter 
obtained  his  information  from  men  of  advanced  age  —  from  sixty 
to  eighty  years  old  —  who  practised    these    rites   and    sang    these 
songs  in  their  youth,  and  who  in  turn  learned  them  from  men  of 
a  departed  generation.     The  shamans  who  conduct  these  ceremo- 
nies, tell  these   tales,    and   sing   these    songs  are  scattered  widely 
over  the  Navaho  country.     Men  who  are  scarcely  acquainted  with 
one  another,  and  who  learned  from    different  preceptors,  will  sing 
the  same  sacred  songs  and  to  exactly  the  same  tune.     All  the  lore 
of   the  Navaho  priesthood  was  undoubtedly  extant  in  Dr.   Lether- 
man's time  and  for  ages  before. 

48.  Songless  Women.  —  It  is  remarkable  that,  while  the  Navaho 
men  are  such  fruitful  composers  of  song  and  such  ardent  singers, 
the  women,  as  a  rule,  do  not  sing.     Among  the  wild  hunting  tribes 
of  the  North,  as  the  author  knew  them  thirty  years  ago,  the  women 
not  only  had  songs  of  their  own,  but  they  took  part  in  the  cere- 
monial  songs   of   the  men.     The    Pueblo    Indian    women   of    New 
Mexico,  neighbors    of    the    Navahoes,  have    many  fine  songs,  the 
song  of   the    corn-grinders,  often    heard  in  Zuni,  being   especially 
wild   and   musical.     But   usually   the    Navaho   woman    is    songless. 
The  writer  tried  a  long   time   to  find  a  woman   who  could  sing, 
and  offered  good  pecuniary  inducements  before  he  got  one.     She 
came  from  a  distance  of  thirty  miles.     She  knew  no  songs  peculiar 
to    her   sex,  but    her   father  was  a  medicine-man,  who   frequently 


Introduction. 


27 


repeated  his  songs  at  home  in  order  to  familiarize  himself  with  them, 
and  she  gradually  picked  up  several  of  them.  She  sang  in  a  mu- 
sical soprano  with  much  spirit,  and  was  one  of  the  most  pleasing 
singers  heard  in  the  tribe. 

49.  Figures  of  Speech.  —  It  is  probable  that  all  rhetorical  figures 
of  speech  known  to  our  poets  may  be  found  in  these  simple  com- 
positions of   the    Navahoes.     But  in  many  cases  the  allusions   are 
to    such    recondite    matters    of   symbolism,    or   incidents    in    their 
myths,  that  they  could  be  made  plain,  if  at  all,  only  by  a  tedious 
recital.     Thus  it  would  not  be  easy  to  make  clear  in  a  few  words 
why,  when  the  goddess    Estsanatlehi,  in  one  of   the  songs  to  her 
honor,  is  spoken  of  as  climbing  a  wand  of  turquoise,  we  know  the 
poet  means  to  say  she  is  ascending  San  Mateo  Mountain,  in  New 
Mexico,  or  why,  when    he    speaks  of   her   as    climbing  a  wand  of 
haliotis   shell,  he  is  endeavoring  to  tell   us   that    she  is  ascending 
the  peak  of   San    Francisco  in  Arizona.     Yet  we    may  gain  some 
idea  of  the  meaning  by  referring  to  the  myth  (par.  193). 

50.  But  some  of   the  metaphors  and  similes  are  not  so  hard  to 
understand.     Here  is  a  translation  of  the  Dove  Song,  one  of  the 
gambling  songs  sung  in  the  game  of  kesitre  :  — 

Wos  Wos  picks  them  up  (seeds), 
Wos  Wos  picks  them  up, 
Glossy  Locks  picks  them  up, 
Red  Moccasin  picks  them  up, 
Wos  Wos  picks  them  up.273  31fi 

Here  Wos  Wos  (Wosh  Wosh)  is  an  onomatope  for  the  dove,  equiva- 
lent to  our  "  coo  coo  "  ;  but  it  is  used  as  a  noun.  Glossy  Locks  and 
Red  Moccasin  are  figurative  expressions  for  the  dove,  of  obvious 
significance.  Metaphor  and  synecdoche  are  here  combined. 

51.  Antithesis  is  not  an  uncommon  figure  with  the  Navaho  poet. 
Here  is  an  instance  of  it  in  a  song  belonging  to  the  mountain  chant, 
one  of  the  great  nine-day  ceremonies  of  the  shamans  :  — 

The  voice  that  beautifies  the  land  ! 

The  voice  above, 

The  voice  of  the  thunder, 

Among  the  dark  clouds 

Again  and  again  it  sounds, 

The  voice  that  beautifies  the  land. 

The  voice  that  beautifies  the  land ! 

The  voice  below, 

The  voice  of  the  grasshopper, 

Among  the  flowers  and  grasses 

Again  and  again  it  sounds, 

The  voice  that  beautifies  the  land. 


28  Introduction. 

Here  the  great  voice  of  the  thunder  above  is  contrasted  with  the 
feeble  voice  of  the  grasshopper  below,  yet  both  are  voices  that  make 
the  world  beautiful. 

52.  Many  instances  of  climax  have  been  noted.     One  here  pre- 
sented is  from  the  mountain  chant.      It   has  but  two  steps  to  the 
ladder  :  — 

Maid  Who  Becomes  a  Bear 

Sought  the  gods  and  found  them, 
On  the  summits  of  the  mountains 

Sought  the  gods  and  found  them, 
Truly  with  my  sacrifice 

Sought  the  gods  and  found  them. 
Somebody  doubts  it,  so  I  have  heard. 

Holy  Young  Woman 

Sought  the  gods  and  found  them, 
On  the  summits  of  the  clouds 

Sought  the  gods  and  found  them, 
Truly  with  my  sacrifice 

Sought  the  gods  and  found  them. 
Somebody  doubts  it,  so  I  have  heard. 

Maid  Who  Becomes  a  Bear  (Tjike  Sa.y  Natlehi)  90  is  an  important 
character  in  Navaho  mythology.  The  last  line  in  each  stanza  is  an 
instance  of  irony. 

53.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  instances  given  that  they  understand 
the  value  of  repetition  in  poetry.     The  refrain  is  a  favorite  form  of 
expression  ;  but  they  know  of  other  means  of  giving  verbal  melody 
to  their  songs,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  following  original  text  of  the 
Bluebird  (Sialia  arcticd)  Song  :  — 


Tsi^ayilkae  rtftla  am, 
Ayaj  dot\\'z\  biza  hold, 
Biza  //o.s'dnigo,  biza  hold, 
Biza  holdnigo  hwihe  inli 
Z?dla  anf.     Z>dla  am. 

To  appreciate  this  a  translation  is  not  necessary,  but  it  is  given,  as 
the  reader  may  wish  to  know  it  :  — 

Just  at  daylight  Sialia  calls. 

The  bluebird  has  a  voice, 

He  has  a  voice,  his  voice  melodious, 

His  voice  melodious  that  flows  in  gladness. 

Sialia  calls.     Sialia  calls. 

The  regular  Navaho  name  for  the  bluebird  "  do\i  "  (changed  here  to 
"</61a"  for  poetic  reasons)  is  translated  Sialia,  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  descriptive  term  "ayaj-  ^/o/li^i,"  which  means  literally  bluebird. 

54.  Rhyme.  —  They  are  not  ignorant  of  the  value  of  rhyme   in 
poetry,  but  they  more  often  produce  this  by  the  repetition  of  signifi- 


Introduction.  29 

cant  or  meaningless  syllables  than  by  selecting  different  words  with 
similar  endings.  Still  we  often  find  this,  the  more  difficult  means, 
resorted  to  as  in  the  above  song  of  the  bluebird. 

55.  Music. — To  the  casual  listener   it  may  appear  that  there  is 
much  sameness   in   the   music  of  their  songs  ;  but  a  more  careful 
study  will  reveal  the  fact  that  the  variety  is  great.     It  is  remarkable 
how,  with  such  rude  instruments  (an  inverted  basket  for  a  drum,  and 
a  gourd  rattle)  to  accompany  them,  they  succeed,  in  a  series  of  two 
hundred  or  more  songs,  in  producing  so  many  musical  changes.     In 
their  sacred  songs  of  sequence,  where  four  or  more  songs  of  similar 
import  follow  one  another,  as  is  often  the  case,  the  music  may  be 
nearly  alike  (but  never  quite  alike)  in   all  ;  but  when  the  theme  of 
the  poetry  changes,  the  music  also  takes  a  decided  change. 

56.  For  further  information  on  the  subject  of  music  the  reader  is 
referred  to  note  272,  which  contains  remarks  by  Prof.  John  Comfort 
Fillmore,  formerly  of  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  but  now  of  Claremont, 
California.     Over  two  years  ago  the  writer  sent  a  number  of  phono- 
graphic  records   of  Navaho   songs   to   Professor  Fillmore,  who  has 
diligently  studied   them   and  has  written  many  of  them  in  musical 
notation.     Some  of  the  musical  scores  are  appended  to  the  note. 

TRIBAL    ORGANIZATION. 

57.  Gentes. — The  version  of  the  Origin  Legend  by  Tall  Chan- 
ter,  here   given,   accounts  for  only  thirty-eight  gentes  among  the 
Navahoes  ;  but  this  informant  was  able  to  name,  in  all,  forty-three 
gentes,  two  of  which,  he  said,  were   extinct.     Lists   of  the  Navaho 
gentes   have  been    obtained    from    various    sources,  and   no   single 
authority  has  been  found  to  give  a  greater  number  than  this.     But 
no  two   lists   are  quite   alike  ;  they  differ  with   regard   to  small   or 
extinct   gentes,  and  one  list  may  supply  a  name  which  another  has 
omitted.    There  would  be  at  least  fifty-one  gentes  extant  and  extinct 
in   the   tribe  if  each   name   so   far   obtained  represented  a  different 
organization.    But  we  find  in  the  Legend  instances  of  a  gens  having 
two  names  (pars.  386,  405,  428,  445). 

58.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  that  none  of  the  lists  may 
be  complete.     Gentes  derived  from  women  of  alien  races,  added  to 
the  tribe  since  it  has  grown  numerous  and  widely  scattered,  may 
exist  in  one  part  of  the  Navaho  country  unknown  to  the  best  in- 
formed persons  in  another  part.     Extinct  gentes  may  be  forgotten 
by  one  informant  and  remembered  by  another. 

59.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  forty-three  gentes  named  by  Tall 
Chanter  :  - 

1.  Tse'dsrinkfni,  House  of  the  Black  Cliffs  (pars.  378-381). 

2.  Tse'tlani,  Bend  in  a  Canon  (par.  382). 


Introduction. 


3.  DsIVnao/r/ni, 

4.  7/askan^atso 

5.  Na-^opani, 


6.  Tslnadsi'ni, 

7.  T^a'neza'  (T^a'nezd'ni), 

8.  Dsi/thrni, 

9.  TM'paha  (T^a'paha^Tn 
jo.  Tsa'yiskiWni, 

11.  Tse'-sin^iai, 

12.  Kldgi  (Kldgi</ine'), 

13.  ToV/ani, 

14.  TM'trini, 

15.  Kai  (KaiWme') 

1  6.  KJfn/rtri  (Krn/rt-nWme', 
17.  Z>ej-trini, 
1  8.  Tlastrfm, 

19.  No/a"  (No/aWme'), 

20.  Nakaf  (NakaiVlne'), 

21.  Tb'yetlmi, 

22.  /telt 

23.  Tb'dftn'ni, 

24.  Mai/d< 

25.  tfasfi'zm 

26.  TWokdw-s-i, 

27.  BT/ji'ni, 

28.  TsmsakaWni, 

29.  Piwbttd' 

30.  Tse'nahapf/ni, 
//bnagd'ni, 
Kiwad'ni, 


31. 

32. 
33. 

34. 


35. 

36.  A^ihi 

37. 

38.  Tse'yana/d'ni  (extinct), 

39.  Td'tsoni, 

40.  BT/dni  or  DsLfcini, 

41.  Tse'yikdhe  (Tse'yikdhe 

42.  TlTzi/£ni, 

43.  To'tja/si/dya  (extinct), 


Encircled  Mountain  (par.  385). 
'),  Much  Yucca  (par.  386). 

Brown  Streak ;  Horizontal  on  the  Ground 

(par.  387). 

Black  Horizontal  Forest  (par.  390). 
Among  the  Scattered  (Hills)  (par.  392). 
Base  of  the  Mountain  (par.  393). 
Among  the  Waters  (par.  394  et  seg.). 
Sage-brush  Hill  (par.  399). 
Trap  Dyke  (par.  401). 
(Name  of  an  old  pueblo)  (par.  403). 
Beside  the  Water  (par.  404). 
Among  the  Red  (Waters  or  Banks)  (par. 

405). 

Willows  (par.  405). 
Red  House  (of  Stone)  (par.  406). 
Red  Streak  (par.  408). 
Red  Flat  (par.  408). 
Ute  (par.  409). 

White  Stranger  (Mexican)  (par.  410). 
Junction  of  the  Rivers  (par.  411). 
Yellow  Bodies  (par.  412). 
Bitter  Water  (par.  427). 
Coyote  Spring  (par.  428). 
Mud  (par.  429). 

Saline  Water  (par.  430,  note  171). 
Folded  Arms  (par.  431). 
Lone  Tree  (par.  441). 
Deer  Spring  (par.  442). 
Overhanging  Rocks  (par.  445). 
Place  of  Walking  (pars.  447,  448). 
High  Standing  House  (par:  458). 
Two  Come  for  Water  (par.  449). 
Black  Horizontal  Stripe  Aliens  (Zufii)  (par. 

452). 

(Not  translated)  (par.  453). 
Salt  (par.  454). 

Coyote  Pass  (Jemez)  (par.  455). 
Horizontal  Water  under  Cliffs  (par.  457). 
Great  Water  (par.  459). 
Brow  of  Mountain. 
Rocks  Standing  near  One  Another. 
Many  Goats  (par.  407). 
Water  under  the  Sitting  Frog. 


60.  The  following  are  eight  names  obtained  from  other  sources, 
and  not  mentioned  by  Tall  Chanter  :  — 

44.  Aatsdsni  Narrow  Gorge. 

45.  Naa'i  (Naa'iVme'),  Monocline. 

46.  Ydo,  Beads. 

47.  Ka'ndni,  Living  Arrows. 

48.  Tse'/Mni,  Among  the  Rocks. 


Introduction.  3 1 

49.  L6ka  (Z,6ka^ine')  Reeds  (Phragmites). 

50.  Tse'^/ejkl'^ni,  Rocky  Pass. 

51.  //q^an/ani,  Many  Huts. 

61.  More  than  one  translation  of  a  gentile  name  has  often  been 
noted  ;  but  in  the  above  lists  only  one  translation  is  given,  —  that 
which  the  author  regards  with  the  most  favor.     Often,  too,  different 
narrators  account  differently  for  the  origin  of  the  gentile  names. 
Some  of  the  translations  are  very  liberal,  and  others,  again,  very  brief  ; 
but  in  the  paragraphs  and  notes  to  which  the  reader  is  referred  he 
will   find  fuller  explanations.     The   Navahoes   sometimes,  but    not 
invariably,  add  (as  shown  in  the  above  lists)  a  suffix  (^/ine',  ni,  or  i), 
signifying  people  ;    but  in  the    above  translations,  to   simplify  the 
study,  the  word  "  people  "  is  omitted. 

62.  There  are  reasons,  which  the  author  has  set  forth  in  a  pre- 
vious essay  318  and  will  not  now  repeat,  for  believing  that  most  of  the 
Navaho  gentes  were  originally  local  exogamous  groups,  and  not  true 
gentes  according  to   Morgan's  definition.325     There  is  little  doubt 
that,  in  the  majority  of  cases   if  not  in  all,  the  names  of  Navaho 
gentes,  which  are  not  the  names  of  tribes,  are  simply  designations 
of  localities,  even  where  the  Legend  states  to  the  contrary  ;    as,  for 
instance,  when  it  tells  us  that  certain  gentes  of  the  Western  immi- 
grants were  named  from  words  that  women  uttered  when  they  first 
tasted  of  the  magic  fountains  (pars.  427,  429,  430). 

63.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  passages  in  the  Legend  which 
indicate  that  a  few  of  the  Navaho  gentes  were  once  totemic,  although 
no  evidence  of  clan  totems  is  known  to  exist  among  the  Navahoes  at 
the  present  time,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  a  few  of  the  gentile 
names  may  be  of  totemic  origin,  although  they  are  now  accounted 
for  in   other  ways  in  the   Origin   Legend.     The  passage  (par.  419) 
which  tells  us  that  Estsanatlehi  gave  certain  pets  to  the  wanderers 
from  the  West,  and  that  these  pets  accompanied  the  people  on  their 
journey,  refers  in  all  probability  to  the  former  use  of  totemic  clan 
symbols,  and  possibly  to  a  custom  of  keeping  live  totemic  animals  in 
captivity,  —  a  custom  prevalent  among  the  ancient  Mexicans  and  the 
modern  Pueblos,  though  not  among  the  modern  Navahoes.     Other 
indications  of  a  former  totemism  may  be  found  in  the  story  of  the 
Deer  Spring  People  (par.  442,  note  195  ;  see,  also,  note  173). 

64.  In   reading   the   fourth    chapter    of    the    Origin    Legend  — 
"  Growth   of  the  Navaho  Nation  "  —  one  is  impressed  with  the  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  willingness,  on  both  sides,  with  which  new  gentes 
are  adopted  into  the  nation.     In  some  instances  two  parties,  meet- 
ing for  the  first  time,  embrace  one  another  and  become  friends  at 
once  (par.  382).     The  clans  from   the  Pacific  coast  —  the  Western 
immigrants,  as  they  are  here  called  —  learn  of  the  existence  of  kin- 


32  In  troduction. 

dred  tribes  far  to  the  east,  take  a  long  and  dangerous  journey  to  join 
them,  and,  when  their  march  is  done,  they  are  received  by  the  Nava- 
hoes  at  once  as  brethren.  On  the  other  hand,  the  legend  tells  us 
of  bands  that  camp  long  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Navahoes  before 
they  become  incorporated  with  the  latter  (par.  394) ;  of  other  clans 
descended  from  captives  (pars.  406,  454,  455)  ;  and  of  others  that 
seek  refuge  among  the  Navahoes  only  to  escape  starvation  or  perse- 
cution at  home  (pars.  403,  452).  On  the  basis  of  their  mode  of  adop- 
tion, the  clans  may  be  divided  into  the  ready  and  the  reluctant.  The 
cause  of  this  is  probably  one  of  language.  Bands  which  we  know 
to  have  been  allied  in  language  to  the  Navahoes  —  such  as  those 
derived  from  the  Apaches  —  will  be  found  among  the  ready;  while 
bands  which  we  know  to  have  spoken  languages  very  different  to 
the  Navaho  —  such  as  those  derived  from  the  Utes,  from  Zuni,  and 
Jemez  —  will  be  found  among  the  reluctant.  It  is  not  unreasonable 
to  conclude  that  the  same  rule  applies  to  clans  of  whose  original 
language  we  know  nothing. 

65.  Phratries.  —  The  gentes  of  the  Navahoes  are  divided  into  a 
number  of  groups,   each  of  which  may  be  called  a  phratry.      Au- 
thorities in  the  tribe  differ  as  to  the  number  of  the  phratries,  and  as 
to  the  gentes  that  compose  them.     Some  make  but  eight  phratries. 
Captain  Bourke294  has  obtained  a  list  of  eleven,  with  three  independ- 
ent gentes.     Some  of  the  Navahoes  say  there  are  twelve  phratries, 
and  suggest  that  they  have  some  relation  to  the  twelve  tribes  who 
dwelt  in  the  first  world.     But  the  Navaho  phratry  seems  not  to  be  a 
homogeneous  organization.     A  case  is  mentioned    in    the   Legend 
where  a  gens  has  changed  its  phratral  affinities  (par.  451).    Inquiry, 
too,  has  revealed   that  there  are  sub-groups.     There  may  be  closer 
bonds  of  alliance  among  some  gentes    in    a   group  than  there  are 
among   others   in    the  same   group.     Authorities,   then,    may   differ 
without  invalidating  each  other's  testimony. 

66.  These  groups  are  indicated  in  the  Legend  when  it  says  that 
one  gens  has  become  closely  related  or  affiliated  with  another  (pars. 
385,  399,  403  et  <?/.),  or  when  it  says  that  two  gentes  cannot  inter- 
marry (pars.  393,  401,  406).     If  the  Navahoes  have  a  term  equiva- 
lent to  "phratry,"  it  has  not  been  discovered.    They  have  no  special 
names  for  the  different  phratries  ;  they  often,  but  not  always,  speak 
of  a  phratry  by  the  name  of  the  most  important  gens  in  it. 

67.  If  the   Legend    is   to  be   taken   as   evidence,   phratries  have 
developed  among  the  Navahoes  both  by  segmentation  of  gentes  and 
by  the  addition  of  new  gentes  from  without  ;  not  by  either  method 
exclusively.     But   legendary  evidence   is  not  needed   to   show  that 
gentes  which  bear  to-day  the  names   of  alien  tribes  have  been  addi- 
tions to  the  phratry. 


Introduction.  33 

68.  Forbidden  Degrees  of  Kindred.  —  A  Navaho  belongs  to  the 
gens  of  his  mother  and  takes  the  name  of  that  gens.     Cases  have 
been  noted  where  a  Navaho  has  been  known  by  his  gentile  name 
and  not  by  any  other.     No   man  may  marry  one  of  his  own  gens  ; 
neither  may  he  marry  one  of  his  own  phratry,  though  some  excep- 
tions seem  to  be  made  in  the  latter  case  where  the  limits  of  the 
phratry  are  not  well  defined.     Where  this  descent  in  the  female  line 
exists  among  other  tribes,  it  is  held  by  some  ethnographers  that  the 
man  does  not  regard  his  father  or  his  father's  people  as  his  relations, 
and  may  contract  a  marriage  with  a  woman  of  his  father's  gens. 
Such  is  certainly  not  the  case  among  the  Navahoes.     The  gens  and 
the  phratry  of  the  father  are  as  much  forbidden  kindred  as  those  of 
the  mother. 

RELIGION. 

69.  Sources  of  Information.  —  That  the  Navahoes  have  a  religion 
—  an  elaborate  pagan  cult  —  has  already  been  intimated.     There  is 

little  to  be  gained  by  asking  a  Navaho  direct  questions  about  this. 
Learned  controversialists  and  theologians,  capable  of  analyzing  and 
discussing  their  faith,  have  not  arisen  among  them,  or,  if  they  have, 
they  cannot  easily  communicate  their  philosophy  to  us.  But  the 
civilized  scholar  has  abundant  material  from  which  to  study  their 
religion,  and  he  must  do  the  analyzing  himself.  In  the  great  dry- 
paintings  shown  on  the  floors  of  the  medicine -lodges,  during  their 
long  ceremonies,  may  be  seen  pictures  of  many  of  the  gods,  with 
their  hieratic  belongings.  In  the  ceremonies,  or  so-called  dances, 
men  are  masked  to  represent  gods.  In  the  myths  the  acts  and 
deeds  of  the  divine  ones  are  described,  and  we  learn  their  thoughts 
and  feelings,  —  kind,  like  Indians,  to  their  kindred ;  usually  cruel, 
yet  often  merciful  and  magnanimous,  to  their  foes.  In  the  count- 
less songs  of  the  rites  may  be  found  the  poetic  side  of  the  divine 
characters,  and  in  the  long  prayers  we  may  learn  their  potency,  and 
discover  how  man  hopes  to  commune  with  them  and  gain  their 
favor. 

70.  No  Supreme  God.  —  The  religion  of  this  people  reflects  their 
social   condition.     Their   government  is   democratic.     There  is  no 
highest  chief  of  the  tribe,  and  all  their  chiefs  are  men  of  tempo- 
rary and  ill-defined  authority,  whose  power  depends  largely  on  their 
personal  influence,  their  oratory,  and  their  reputation  for  wisdom. 
It  is   difficult   for   such  a  people   to    conceive  of  a  Supreme  God. 
Their  gods,  like  their  men,  stand  much  on  a  level  of  equality. 

71.  Suu  God.  —  In  the  version  of  the  Origin  Legend  here  given, 
the  Sun  God  would  seem  to  have  some  precedence  over  the  others, 
but  in  the  beginning    he  was    only  one    of   the    people ;  he  never 
figures    conspicuously  as   a   Creator,  and    is   far  from  omnipotent. 


34  Introduction. 

Other  gods,  less  potent  or  less  respected,  lived  before  the  time  of 
man,  and  were  powerful  before  the  sun  was  made. 

72.  Creation.  —  The  Legend  begins  with  an  already  created  world ; 
there  is  no  original  creation  and  no  Creator  of  all.     If  the  Navahoes 
have  a  story  of    the   beginning  of   all   things,  the    author  has  not 
learned  it.     To  a  god  called  BekoUiJi78  is  given  the  credit  of  hav- 
ing  made  all  animals  whose   creation  is  not    otherwise   accounted 
for  in  the  myths,  especially  domestic    animals.      Some  of   the  In- 
dians who  have  heard  vaguely  of   our  Creator  are  of  the  opinion 
that  Bekot^i^i  is  the  God  of  the  Americans. 

73.  Estsdnatlehi.  —  But  it  is  generally  acknowledged  by  the  Nava- 
hoes   that   their   most  revered  deity  is  Estsanatlehi,95  the  Woman 
Who  Changes  (or  rejuvenates  herself).     Much  is  said  of  her  in  the 
legends,    but    something   more  is  to  be   obtained   by  conversation 
with  the  shamans.     The  name  Estsanatlehi  is  derived  by  syncopa- 
tion from  estsan,  woman,  and  natle"hi,  to  change  or  transform.     She 
is  so  called  because,  it  is  supposed,  she  never  remains  in  one  con- 
dition, but  that  she  grows  to  be  an  old  woman,  and  in  the  course 
of   time    becomes  a  young  girl  again,  and    so    passes   through   an 
endless  course  of  lives,  changing  but  never  dying.     It  is  probable 
that  she  is  an  apotheosis  of  Nature,  or  of  the  changing  year. 

74.  The  deity  of  fruitful  Nature  is  properly  a  female  and  a  be- 
neficent goddess.     She  is  properly,  too,  as  the  legends  tell  us,  the 
wife  of  the  Sun,  to  whom  Nature  owes  her  fertility.     Her  home  is 
said  to  be  in  the  west,  probably  for  the  reason  that  in  the  Navaho 
country,  which    lies    mostly  on  the    Pacific    slope,  the   rain    comes 
usually  from  the  west,  and  from  that  direction,  too,  come  the  thaw- 
ing breezes  in  the  spring. 

75.  Yolkai  Estsan.  —  A  divinity  called  Yo/kaf  Estsan,96  or  White 
Shell  Woman,  created  (or  found,  as  some  versions  say)  at  the  same 
time  as  Estsanatlehi,  is  called  the  younger  sister  of  the  latter.     The 
two  goddesses  are  associated  in  the  myths,  but  White  Shell  Woman 
always  acts  the  subordinate  part,  and  to-day  is  honored  with  a  less 
degree  of  worship  than  her  sister.     Estsanatlehi,  made  of  an  earthly 
jewel,   turquoise,  is  related  to  the  land.     Yo/kaf  Estsan,  made  of 
white  shell  from  the  ocean,  is  related  to  the  waters. 

76.  War  Gods.  —  Next  in  importance  to  Estsanatlehi,  the  sacred 
brethren,  Nayenezgani  (or  Nagenezgani)  and   Tb'ba^istri'ni,127  seem 
to  stand.     The  writer  designates  these  as  the  War  Gods,  but  the 
Navahoes  do  not  call  them  thus.     According  to  the  version  of  the 
Origin  Legend  here  given,  one  of  these  was  the  child  of  Estsanatlehi 
and  the  Sun  ;  the  other  the  child  of  Yo/kai  Estsan  and  the  Water,  and 
this  is  the  version  most  consistent  in  all  respects.     Other  versions 
make  both  the  brothers  children  of  Estsanatlehi.      Some  say  they 


Introduction.  35 

were  born  twins.  Accepting  any  of  these  versions,  they  would  prop- 
erly be  called  brothers,  according  to  the  Indian  system  of  relation- 
ship, and  such  they  are  called  in  the  legends.  Their  chief  mission 
was  to  destroy  the  alien  gods  ;  but  they  still  help  the  warriors  in  bat- 
tle, and  aid  the  sick  who  suffer  from  witchcraft.  The  longest  chapter 
in  the  Origin  Legend  is  devoted  to  recounting  their  genesis  and 
history.  In  reading  the  chapter,  it  will  be  apparent  to  the  compara- 
tive mythologist  that  these  characters  have  their  counterparts,  which 
need  not  now  be  mentioned,  in  the  myths  of  many  races  in  both 
hemispheres.  From  their  mythic  associations  it  would  appear  that 
Nayenezgani  is  a  god  of  light,  with  its  associated  heat,  while  Tb'ba- 
d-s-istnni  is  a  god  of  darkness,  with  its  associated  moisture ;  yet, 
apparently  in  contradiction  to  this,  the  representative  of  the  former 
is  painted  black  and  wears  a  black  mask  in  the  ceremonies  (plate 
IV.),  while  the  representative  of  the  latter  is  painted  red  and  wears 
a  red  mask  (plate  VII.). 

77.  Nayenezgani,    whose    name    signifies    Slayer   of    the    Alien 
Gods,127  is  spoken  of  as  the  elder  brother  in  the  legends  and  always 
plays    the   more    important   part.     Tb'bacUistrfni,   or  Child  of  the 
Water,127  is  called  the  younger  brother  and  always  appears  as  a 
subordinate  character.     In  the  ceremonies,  the  masquerader  who 
personates  Nayenezgani  always  walks  in  front,  while  he  who  person- 
ates  Tb'badsistyfni  comes  behind.     The  two  gods  are  always  asso- 
ciated in  prayer  and  sacrifice,  but  here,  again,  Nayenezgani  takes 
precedence.     In   all  the  sacred  songs  where   they  are  mentioned, 
the    superiority  of    Nayenezgani  is  indicated.     Antithesis,   as  has 
been  said,  is  a  favorite  figure  with    the    Navaho   poets,  and   they 
often  employ  it  when  speaking  of  'these  gods.     The  "  Song  of  the 
Approach "    of   the   War   Gods    in    the    ceremony'  of   kled^i   h&t&l 
will  serve,  as  well  as  many  other  compositions,  'to  show,  how  they 
treat  this  subject.     It  may  be  freely  translated  thus  :  — 

He  advances  !     He  advances  ! 
Now  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods  advances, 
Above,  among  the  mountain  peaks,  he  advances, 
In  danger  he  advances. 

He  advances  !     He  advances  ! 
Now  Child  of  the  Water  advances 
Below,  among  the  foothills,  he  advances, 
In  danger  he  advances. 

Thus  both  the  gods  come  to  the  aid  of  the  supplicant ;  but  while 
the  elder  strides  proudly  on  the  summits  of  the  mountains,  the 
younger  walks  humbly  among  the  foothills. 

78.  Yei.  —  There  are  a  number  of  divinities  in  the  Navaho  pan- 


Introduction. 


**:-     ••_ 
Fig.  22.     The  White  House.    One  of  the  houses  of  the  yei  (from  photograph  by  Hillers). 

theon  known  as  yei  (in  compound  words  often  pronounced  ye  or 
ge),  which  is  translated  "god  "  or  "genius."  What  distinction  exists 
between  the  yei  and  other  gods  is  not  easy  to  determine  definitely. 
The  Zunians  have  a  class  of  gods  called  by  the  same  name,  or, 
more  correctly,  "  yeyi,"  as  Mr.  Gushing  pronounces  it.  Certain 
chiefs  or  important  personages  among  these  gods  are  called  by 
names  which  begin  with  the  syllables  //asUe  —  as  //as  .^eyal/i 73 
(Talking  God),  //astye/^cg-an  74  (House  God).  It  is  believed  that 
this,  if  spelled  etymologically,  would  appear  as  //astye,  but  it  is 
not  so  pronounced,  //ast  is  a  prefix  denoting  age,  especially  ven- 
erable age.  We  have  it  in  the  word  /lastiu,  which  means  a  worthy 
or  respected  old  man.  //astye  would  mean  a  venerable  yei  or  god. 
The  yei  seem  to  be  deities  of  minor  importance  to  those  previously 
mentioned  and  to  be  more  numerous.  Thus,  while  there  is  but 
one  Estsanatlehi,  but  one  Nayenezgani,  and  but  one  7Vbad,cistrini 
there  are  several  //astre^ogan  and  several  //a-rtseyal/i,  who  are 
chiefs  of  the  yei.  The  yei  are  supposed  to  abide  in  certain  locali- 
ties, and  in  prayers  in  their  honor  the  home  is  mentioned  of  the 
ye"i  to  whom  appeal  is  specially  made.  A  place  called  Tse'natri, 
or  Red  Horizontal  Rock,  somewhere  north  of  the  San  Juan  River, 
Tse'gihi,  another  place  north  of  the  San  Juan,  and  the  White 
House  (fig.  22),  in  the  Chelly  Canyon,  are  important  homes  of 
the  yei.265  Each  of  the  sacred  mountains  has  its  group  of  yei.  In 


Introduction. 


37 


the  myths  of  kledsi  /^a/a/,  more  than  a  score  of  places  are  named 
where  yei  dwell.  There  are  some  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
cult  of  the  yei  is  derived  from  the  Cliff-dwellers,  or  from  the  Pueblos ; 
but  there  are  arguments,  too,  against  this  theory.  The  subject  will 
not  be  further  considered  here.  The  yei  are  supposed  to  be  mar- 
ried and  have  families.  The  males  are  called  yebaka ;  the  females, 
yebaad.200  //ast^e^ini,212  the  god  of  fire,  and  ^astreol/oi,206  the  divine 
huntress,  or  goddess  of  the  chase,  belong,  as  their  names  indicate, 
to  the  yei;  while  Ga^askl^i,207  the  harvest  god,  and  Tb'nenili98 
Water  Sprinkler,  are  associated  with  them  in  the  legends. 

79.  T)igini.  —  Z^igi'n  means  sacred,  divine,  mysterious,  or  holy.    It 
is  not    quite   synonymous  with  the  Dakota  wakan  or  the  Hidatsa 
hopa.     It  is  not  applied  to  the  treatment  of  disease  ;  it  is  not  ap- 
plied in  a  general  way  to   religious    ceremonial  ;    it  has    not  been 
heard  applied  to  the  anaye,  or  other  things  of  evil  :  for  this  reason  it 
is  often  translated  "holy."     .Z^igini,  derived  from  <^gi'n,  means  holy 
people,  gods,  divinities.     It  is  a  name  applied  to  the  highest  and 
lowest  divinities,  including  the  yei  (see  notes  92  and  93). 

80.  Alien  Gods.  —  Such  are  the  gods  that  are  friendly  to  the  human 
race  ;  but  man  has  his  enemies,  too,  among  the  mysterious  powers. 
Chief  among  the  latter  are  the  anaye,7  the  alien  gods  or  inimical 
genii.     These,  being  analogous  to  the  giants  and  ogres  of  European 
folk-lore,  are  sometimes  called  giants  in  this  work.    They  are  usually 
represented  as  creatures  of  great  size.     Many  of  them  are  described 
in  the  Origin  Legend.     The  worst  have   been  slain,   as  the  story 
relates ;  but  others,  being  not  unmixed  evils,  still  remain  to  torment 
man.     The   legend,    in    accounting   for   their  continued   existence, 
shows  the  philosophic  endeavor  of  our  race  to  reconcile  itself  to  the 
unwelcome  inevitable. 

8 1.  Water  God.  —  The  position  of  Tieholtsodi,8  the  water  monster, 
is  one  of  transferred  allegiance.     He  was  once  the  enemy  of  our 
race,  but  now  has  become  friendly  to  it  in  certain  ways,  though  it 
is  probable  that  he   is   still  thought  to  be  responsible  for  cases  of 
drowning.     Other  gods,  who  were  once  inimical  to  man  but  are  now 
his  friends,  are  mentioned  in  the  legends  (par.  354).     But  we  are  not 
without  evidence  that  the  Navaho  fears  to  offend  his  most  beneficent 
gods  lest  the  latter  may  directly  punish  him,  or  at  least  withhold 
their  succor  in  his  hour  of  need. 

82.  Devils.  —  Besides  the  alien  gods,  there  are  evil  spirits  haunt- 
ing the  earth  which  men  dread ;  these  are  the  tri'ndi,  whose  name 
cannot  be  better  translated  than  by  calling  them  devils.     The  Nava- 
hoes  frequently  speak  of  the  tri'ndi  (Englished,  chindee),  and  they 
often   use  the  term  as  an  angry   exclamation,  just  as   the  profane 
among  ourselves  say,  "  Oh  the  Devil !  "  or  "You  devil  !  "  (see  pars. 


38  Introduction. 

257,  260),  yet  they  dislike  to  discuss  its  character  or  appearance. 
They  believe  there  is  a  devil  associated  with  every  corpse,  and  that 
it  has  something  of  the  appearance  of  a  partly  decayed  corpse.  The 
spirit  of  the  dead  man  goes  to  the  lower  world,  which  was  the  former 
home  of  the  race,  yet  a  demon  remains  with  the  dead  body.  Other 
Indians  believe  in  a  similar  corpse  spirit,  yet  the  author  has  never 
known  any  who  have  such  dread  as  the  Navahoes  of  human  mor- 
tuary remains.  (See  par.  188  and  note  91.) 

83.  Zoolatry.  —  The  legend  tells  us  that  there  is  a  First  Man  and 
a  First  Woman  (see  pars.    160-165),  who  came  intq  being  in  the 
fourth  world  as  the  result  of  a  special  act  of  creation  :  but  they  have 
not  died  like  Adam  and  Eve  ;  they  still  live  in  some  form ;  they  are 
potent  ;  they  are  immortal ;  they  are  divine.     But  it  is  not  man  only 
that  has  his  divine  ancestral  prototype :  every  animal  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  has  its  also,  and  many,  if  not  all,  of  these  are  objects  of 
worship.     A  share  of  reverence,  too,  in  some  cases,  as  in  that  of  the 
bear,  is  bestowed  on  their  mortal  descendants.     In  the  rite  of  the 
mountain  chant  3M  many  of  the  sacrifices  are  sacred  to  the  animals 
of  the  mountains.     In  short,  zoolatry  is  an  important  element  in 
Navaho  worship. 

84.  Local  Gods.  —  Some  of  the  gods   mentioned  are  also   local 
divinities  ;  thus  the  War  Gods  are  local  divinities  at  TVye'tli  (par. 
374),  and  the  yei  are  local  divinities  at  Tse'natn.    But,  in  addition  to 
these,  there  are  other  gods  of  places  so  numerous  that  a  complete  list 
of  them  will  probably  never  be  obtained.     In  the  Origin  Legend  it  is 
shown  that  each  of  the  sacred  mountains  of  the  Navaho  land  (seven 
in  number  according  to  Tall  Chanter)  has  its  divine  pair  of  indwell- 
ing guardians,  and  these  seem  to  receive  more  honor  than  any  others 
which  are  gods  of  places  only  ;  but  the  genii  of  other  mountains  and* 
of  different  rocks  and  canyons  have  their  prayers  and  sacrifices  in 
some  of  the  rites. 

85.  Fanciful  legends  of  places  are  common  in  all  lands  and  among 
all  races,  but  no  people  are  more  ingenious  in  composing  such  tales 
than  our  American  Indians.     The  Navaho  has  unusual   sources  of 
inspiration  in  this  direction,  and  he  fails  not  to  profit  by  them.     His 
land  abounds  in   wonderful  geologic  formations,  in  rocks  strangely 
sculptured  by  rain  and  by  Nature's  sand-blast,  in  vast  volcanic  peaks 
and  fields  of  lava  ;  and   it  abounds  also,  as  might  be  expected,  in 
myths  accounting  for  these  features,  and  in  the  genii  which  belong 
to  the  myths.     A  few  of  these  myths  are  incorporated  in   the  tales 
told  in  thfs  work,  but  they  are  very  few  compared  with  the  total  of 
such  legendary  lore. 

86.  The  strength  of  their  belief  in  these  local  divinities  may  be 
illustrated  by  the  following  incident  :  The  writer  once  made  a  jour- 


Introduction. 


39 


ney,  accompanied  by  two  Navahoes,  to  Trujkai9  (Chusca  Knoll), 
which  is  supposed  to  be  the  home  of  the  T.rike  Sas  Natlehi,  or 
Maidens  who  Become  Bears.  When  the  party  got  to  the  top  of  the 
ridge  from  which  the  knoll  rises,  and  about  three  hundred  yards  from 
the  base  of  the  knoll,  the  Indians  refused  to  go  farther,  saying  they 
feared  the  divine  ones  who  dwelt  in  the 
knoll.  The  writer  proceeded  alone,  and 
had  much  difficulty  in  riding  up  the  path- 
less hill,  among  loose  rocks  and  fallen  trees. 
On  the  summit  he  found  a  little  hollow 
among  the  rocks  full  of  sand,  and,  scraping 
into  this,  he  discovered  a  number  of  hand- 
wrought  stone  and  shell  beads,  which  had 
been  put  there  as  sacrifices.  When  he 
descended  from  the  knoll,  he  found  the 
Indians  awaiting  him  where  he  had  left 
them,  and  all  set  out  together  to  retrace 
the  rough  mountain  trail  down  to  Red 
Lake.  In  a  little  while,  his  horse  becom- 
ing very  lame,  the  writer  was  obliged  to 
dismount.  "What  has  made  your  horse 
lame?"  asked  the  Indians.  "He  must 
have  struck  his  leg  against  some  of  the 
fallen  trees  when  he  was  climbing  the 
knoll,"  was  the  answer.  "  Think  not  thus, 
foolish  American,"  they  said.  "  It  was  not 
the  fallen  trees  that  wounded  your  horse. 
The  dfigmi  of  the  mountain  have  stricken 
him  because  you  went  where  you  had  no 
right  to  go.  You  are  lucky  if  nothing 
worse  happens  to  you."  Of  course  In- 
dians had  been  up  to  the  top  of  the  knoll,  or 
the  beads  could  not  have  been  put  there ; 
but  they  went  only  after  preparatory 
prayer  and  only  to  deposit  sacrifices. 

87.   Demonolatry.  —  There    are    writers 

who  say  that  the  Indians  "  worship  the  Devil  "  and  other  malevolent 
powers ;  but  it  is  not  only  learned  authors  who  speak  thus.  Jesus 
Alviso,  a  Mexican  captive  reared  among  the  Navahoes,  said  to  the 
author  in  i88o:"Los  Indios  hacen  figuras  de  todos  sus  diablos, 
senor  "  ("  The  Indians  make  figures  of  all  their  devils,  sir),"  and 
it  was  this  hint  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  their  dry-paintings. 
He  called  them  devils  ;  in  this  work  they  are  called  gods.  Per- 
haps other  tribes  worship  personifications  of  evil,  but  certainly  the 


Fig.  23.     Talking  kethawn. 


4O  Introduction. 

Navahoes  do  not.  The  gods  who  are  supposed  to  love  and  help 
men  the  most  receive  the  greatest  honor.  The  evil  spirits  are  not 
worshipped  except,  rumor  says,  by  the  witches.  It  would  appear, 
moreover,  from  the  Origin  Legend,  that  the  worst  of  evil  powers  — 
the  alien  gods  —  were  long  ago  destroyed,  and  that  only  demons 
of  minor  influence  remain.  The  chief  of  witches,  Estsan  Na/a?/,  or 
Woman  Chief,  has  her  home  beneath  the  earth,  in  one  of  the  lower 
worlds. 

CEREMONIES. 

88.  A  great  number  of  ceremonies  are  practised  by  the  Navaho 
priests.  Many  of  these  are  of  nine  days'  duration  ;  there  are  others 
that  last  but  a  single  day  or  a  few  hours.  To  learn  one  of  the  great 


Fig.  24.     Circle  kethawn. 

rites  so  as  to  become  its  /^ata/i  (chanter,  singer),16  or  priest,  is  the 
work  of  many  years,  and  no  one  knows  more  than  one  such  rite 
perfectly.  The  older  priests  know  something  of  other  rites,  may 
assist  at  them  and  sing  songs  at  them,  but  are  not  competent  to 
conduct  them.  A  priest  of  a  great  rite  may  know  some  of  the 
lesser  rites. 

89.  All  the  great  ceremonies  which  the  writer  has  witnessed 
among  the  Navahoes  are  primarily  for  the  healing  of  the  sick  ;  but 
the  occasion  is  always  used  to  ask  the  gods  for  various  temporal 


Introduction.  4 1 

blessings,  not  only  for  the  sick  person  but  for  all,  —  the  shaman,  the 
relations  of  the  sick,  and  for  the  people  in  general.  The  invalid,  for 
whose  benefit  the  rite  is  performed,  defrays  all  the  expenses  of  the 
ceremony,  which  often  amount  in  value  to  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
or  three  hundred  dollars.  The  Navahoes  being  a  scattered  and 
to  some  extent  a  wandering  people  who  do  not  build  towns,  they 
lack  the  organization  to  have  rites  of  a  more  public  character,  such 
as  the  village  Indians  have.184  Hence  these  healing  ceremonies,  in 
which  the  sick  man  and  his  relations  become  hosts,  are  used  as  occa- 
sions for  prayer  for  the  common  weal,  and  as  occasions  in  which 
large  numbers  may  assemble  to  witness  interesting  exhibitions  and 
have  the  social  enjoyments  which  attend  the  gathering' of  a  crowd. 

90.  Minor  Ceremonies.  —  Among  the  minor  ceremonies,  besides 
those  for  healing  the  sick,  are  those  of  planting,  harvesting,  build- 
ing, war,  nubility,  marriage,  travel,  and   many  other   occasions   in 
life.     In  addition  to  these,  there  are  ceremonies  for  special   occa- 
sions, as  for   bringing   rain.      During   an    unusually  dry  season   a 
number  of  Navahoes  may  subscribe  together  and  raise  a  good  fee 
for  a  priest  to  sing,  pray,  sacrifice,  and  conduct  a  ceremony  to  bring 
rain. 

91.  Origin  of  Ceremonies.  — The  late  Mr.  A.  M.  Stephen  of  Ari- 
zona, who  for  many  years  studied  the  rites  and  myths  of  both  Mokis 
and  Navahoes,  has  often  called  the  attention  of  the  writer  to  the 
many  resemblances  between  the  cults  of  these  two  tribes,  who  dif- 
fer so  much  in  other  respects,  and  he  has  suggested  that  the  Na- 
vahoes may  have  borrowed  from  the  Mokis.     This  may  be  the  case, 
for  the  Navahoes  have,  probably,   people  of  Moki  descent  among 
them,  and  they  have  had  intercourse  with  the  Mokis,  bo^h  peaceful 
and   warlike,  for   a   long   time.      But,  throughout   all    the    Navaho 
legends  so  far  collected,  it  is  strongly  indicated  that  the  Navaho 
cultus,  where  borrowed,  came  from  cliff-dwellers,  from  inhabitants 
of  pueblos  now  deserted,  and  from  wild  tribes.     The  Mokis  figure 
but   little  in  the  Navaho   rite-myths.     The    author    is    inclined   to 
believe  that  the  Navahoes  have  not  borrowed   much  directly  from 
the  Mokis,  but  that  both  tribes  have  taken  inspiration  from  com- 
mon sources.     In  radical  points  of  symbolism,  such  as  the  sacred 
colors  and  the  ceremonial  circuit,  the  Navaho  and  Moki  rites  differ 
widely. 

92.  Elements  of  Ceremonies.  —  In  the  ceremonies  there  are  nu- 
merous minor  acts  of   such  diverse  character  that  they  cannot  be 
classified  and    are   not    described  in  this  work.     They  can  be  dis- 
cussed better  in  connection  with  the  rites  to  which   they  belong. 
There  are  other  acts  of  minor  importance,  such  as  the  ceremonial 
bath 10  82  and  the  administration  of  pollen,11  which  are  considered  in 


42  Introduction. 

the  notes.  But  there  are  six  elements  of  the  worship  which  con- 
stitute such  important  parts  in  all  the  great  rites  that  brief  descrip- 
tions of  them  are  presented  in  this  introduction.  These  six  are  : 
Sacrifice,  painting,  masquerade,  dance,  prayer,  and  song.  The  last 
has  been  already  discussed  (par.  41  et  seq.}. 

93.  Sacrifices.  —  The  sacrifices  of  the  Navahoes  are  innocent  and 
bloodless.     Their  kindly  gods  are   easily   propitiated.     Like   their 
worshippers,  they  are  all  fond  of  tobacco,  and  they  prize  a  few  fea- 
thers and  beads.     Even  the  chief  war  god  demands  no  smoking 
hearts  or  blood  of  captives  ;  a  little  painted  cigarette  is  all  he  asks 
in  return  for  his  favors.      An  extensive  chapter  might  be  written 
about  the  sacrificial  cigarettes  and  sticks  which  the  Navahoes  call 
ke/an  (Englished,  kethawn),  but  a  short  description  of  them  must 
suffice  here.     (See  note  12.) 

94.  Cigarettes. — The  cigarettes  are  usually  made  of  the  hollow 
joints  of  the  common  reed  (Phragmites  communis),  but  other  plants 
are  sometimes  used.     To  form  a  cigarette,  a  piece  of  the  reed  is  cut 
off  with  a  stone  knife,  the  node  being  excluded  ;  it  is  rubbed  with 
sandstone,  so  that  the  paint  may  adhere ;   it  is  painted  with  some 
symbolical  device ;  a  wad  of  feathers  is  inserted  into  it  to  keep  the 
tobacco   from    falling   out ;    it  is   filled  with   some   kind  of   native 
tobacco,223  usually  the  Nicotiana  attenuata,  or  dsi'/nafo  of  the  Nava- 
hoes ;  it  is  sealed  with  moistened  pollen  and  symbolically  lighted 
with  a  rock  crystal,  which  is  held  up  to  the  sky  and  touched  to  the 
tip  of  the  cigarette.     After  it  has  been  prayed  over  it  is  taken  out 
and  left  for  —  i.  e.,  sacrificed  to  —  the  god  for  whom  it  is  intended. 
The  god,  they  say,  recognizes  it  by  its  symbolic  painting  and  by  the 
place  where  it  is  sacrificed.     He  picks  it  up,  smells  and  examines  it. 
If  he  is  satisfied  that  it  is  properly  made  and  that  it  is  for  him,  he 
takes  it  and  bestows  on  the  supplicant  the  favors  asked. 

95.  Sacrificial  Sticks. — Besides  the  cigarettes,  small  sticks  are 
used  as  sacrifices  to  the  gods.     These   are  made  from  a  variety  of 
woods,  —  different  gods  and  different  occasions   requiring  woods  of 
different  sorts,  —  and  they  are  painted  in  a  variety  of  ways  for  the 
same  reasons.     They  are  usually  made  in  pairs,  one  for  the  male 
and  the  other  for  the  female.      Celibacy  is  not  practised  by  the 
Navaho  gods ;  every  deity  has  its  mate,  and  she  must  be  propitiated 
as  well  as  he.     The  female  is  distinguished  in  some  way  from  the 
male,  and  this  is  usually  done  by  cutting  a  small  facet  at  the  tip  end 
of  the  female  stick  (see  fig.  23),  to  represent  the  square  mask  worn 
by  one  who  masquerades  as  a  goddess  in  the  ceremonies.     He  who 
appears  as  a  god  wears  a  round  cap-like  mask  (fig.  27),  and  the  round 
cut  end  of  the  stick  sufficiently  represents  this. 

96.  Often  the  feathers  of  different  kinds  of  birds  are  sacrificed 


Introduction. 


43 


Kethawns  (sacrificial  sticks  and  cigarettes)  in  sacred 
basket,  ready  for  sacrifice. 

with  the  kethawns,  either  attached  to  the  latter  or  separate ;  also 
beads  of  stone  or  shell  and  various  kinds  of  powdered  vegetable  and 
mineral  substances,  including  pollen,11  which  is  the  most  sacred  sub- 
stance employed  by  the  Navaho  priests. 

97.  Disposal  of  Kethawns.  -  -  The  different  ways   in   which  ke- 
thawns are  deposited  or  sacrificed  are  as  numerous  as  are  their  forms, 
materials,  and  decorations,  and  each  way  has  its  special  symbolism. 
Some  are  laid  in  the  branches  of  a  tree,  others  among  rocks,  others 
at  the  base  of  a  cliff,  others,  again,  at  the  root  of  a  tree,  and  others 
on  level  ground  ;  a  few  are  thrown  away  almost  at  random,  but  most 
of  them  are  laid  down  with  care  and  with  rigorous  ceremonial  form. 
All  that  are  laid  with  care  are  placed  with  their  tips  away  from  the 
lodge,  and  each  is  destined  to  go  toward  some  particular  point  of  the 
compass.     When  the  bearer  of  the  sacrifice  leaves  the  lodge,  he  pro- 
ceeds in  the  direction  of  the  place  selected  for  the  sacrifice ;  when 
he  has  deposited  it  he  turns  to  the  right  and  takes  a  sunwise  direc- 
tion in  returning.      He  does  not  cross  his   outgoing  trail  ;  he  must 
not  walk  through  an  ant-hill ;  he  must  run  both  going  and  coming.12 

98.  Ceremonial  Pictures.  —  The  pictures  accompanying  the  Navaho 
rites  are  among  the  most  transitory  in  the  history  of  art.     In  pre- 
vious  essays  the  author  has   called  them   dry-paintings.      Similar 


44  Introduction. 

works  have  been  observed  among  other  tribes,  both  nomadic  and 
sedentary,  and  the  observers  have  designated  them  as  "  sand-paint- 
ings," "  sand-altars,"  etc.  They  are  drawn  in  all  the  great  rites,  and 
even  in  some  of  the  lesser  rites  —  those  of  only  one  day's  duration 

—  small  but  handsome  dry-paintings  are  sometimes  made.     They 
vary  in  size  from  four  to  twelve  feet  in  diameter.     Sometimes  the 
fire  in  the  centre  of  the  medicine-lodge  must  be  removed  in  order  to 
accommodate  them.     The  groundwork  is  sand,  which  is  conveyed  in 
blankets  into  the  medicine-lodge,  and  spread  out  over  the  floor  to 
the  depth  of   about    three  inches.     It  is  smoothed  with  the  broad 
oaken  battens  used  in  weaving. 

99.  Before  the  sand  is  brought  in,  the  pigments  are  ground  to 
powder  and  put  on  broad  pieces  of  pine  bark,  which  serve  as  trays 

—  or  palettes,  shall  we  say  ?     The  pigments  are  five  in  number,  — 
white,  red,  yellow,  black,  and  gray.     The    white,  red,  and   yellow 
are  made  of  sandstone.     The  black  is  made  of  powdered  charcoal, 
with  which  a  little    sandstone  is  mixed   to  facilitate   the   grinding 
and  give  weight    to    the    powder.     The   gray,  made    of   black  and 
white  mixed  in  suitable  proportions,  is  intended  to  represent  blue, 
is  called  blue  by  the  Navahoes,  and,  combined  with  the  other  colors, 
has  the  effect  of   blue  in  the  paintings.     It  will  be  spoken  of   as 
blue  in  the  subsequent  descriptions.     The  Navahoes  use  indigo  and 
a   native    bluish    mineral    pigment  to  paint   masks,  kethawns,  and 
other  small  objects;   but  for  the  dry -paintings  such  a  large  quan- 
tity is  needed  that    these  would  be  too    expensive.     To  apply  the 
colored  powder,  a  pinch  of  it  is  taken  up  between  the  thumb  and 
first  two  fingers  and  allowed  to  fall  slowly  on  the  sand,  while  the 
thumb  is  moved  over  the  fingers. 

100.  To  paint  one  of  these  large  pictures  may  require  the  labor 
of  several  men — a  dozen  sometimes — working  from  early  morn- 
ing till  late  in  the  afternoon.     The  picture  must  be  finished  before 
dark,  for  it  is  impracticable  to  work  on  it  with  such  artificial  lights 
as  the  Indians  can  command.     While  the  work  is  in  progress  the 
priest  who  conducts  the  ceremonies  does  little    more   than   direct 
and    criticise.     The    operators    have    received    a   certain    initiation. 
They  have  seen  the  picture  painted  before  and  are  familiar  with  its 
details.     If  an  error  is  made  the  faulty  part  is  not  erased  ;  sand  is 
spread  on  it  to  obliterate  it,  and  the  corrected  drawing  is  made  on 
the  new  deposit  of  sand.    The  pictures  are  drawn  according  to  exact 
and    established    rules.     Some   parts   are  measured    by   palms  and 
spans,  and  not  a  line  of  the  sacred  designs  may  be  varied  in  them. 
In  drawing  straight  lines  the  colored  powder  is  poured  over  a  tight- 
ened cord.     But  in  a  few  cases  the  artist  is  allowed  to  indulge  his 
fancy,  thus,  in  drawing  the   embroidered  pouches  which  the  gods 


Introduction.  45 

wear  suspended  at  the  waist  (plate  I.),  the  limner  may,  within  certain 
limits,  give  his  god  as  handsome  a  pouch  as  he  wishes  and  embroider 
it  to  suit  his  notion.  The  naked  forms  of  the  mythical  characters 
are  drawn  first  and  then  the  clothing  and  ornaments  are  laid  on. 

101.  When  the  picture  is  finished  a  number  of  ceremonies  (differ- 
ing somewhat  in  different  rites)  are  performed  over  it.     Pollen  or 
corn-meal  may  be  placed  on  certain  parts  of  the  sacred  figures,  and 
one  of  these  substances  may  be  scattered  over  it.     Water  or  medi- 
cinal infusions  may  be  applied  to  it.     At  length  the  patient  is  brought 
in   and  placed  sitting  on  the  picture.     Moistening  his  palms,  the 
shaman  or  an  assistant   takes  the  colored  dust  from  various  parts  of 
the  divine  figures  and   applies   it   to  similar  parts  of  the  subject's 
body.   Medicine  is  then  usually  administered  in  four  draughts.   When 
the  patient  leaves,  others   in   the  lodge  who  are  ill,  or  fancy  them-  ' 
selves  ill,  take  dust  on  their  palms  from  the  picture  and  apply  it  to 
their  own  persons.     He  who  has  headache  takes  dust  from  the  head 
in  the  picture  and  applies  it  to  his  own  head.     He  who  has  sore  feet 
takes  dust  from  the  pictured  feet.     When  all  are  done  the  picture  is 
badly  marred  ;  it  is  then  totally  obliterated,  —  the  method  and  cere- 
mony of   obliteration  differing  in  different  rites,  —  and  the  sand  on 
which  it  was  drawn  is  taken  out  of  the  lodge  and  thrown  away.    The 
floor  on  the  lodge  is  swept,  and  the  uninitiated,  entering  a  moment 
later,  has  no  evidence  of  what  has  taken  place. 

1 02.  Plate  I.  shows  pictures  of  five  different  gods  as  they  appear 
separately  in  the  dry-paintings.     Figure  29   represents,  in  black,  a 
complete  painting  (the  original  of  which  was  done  in  five  different 
colors)  from  the  rite  of  the  kled.d.  ^a/a/,  or  the  night  chant.     It  will 
be  observed  that  some  of  the  gods  or  yei  of  plate  I.  are  to  be  seen  in 
fig.  29. 

103.  The   medicine-men  declare   that    these    pictures  have  been 
transmitted  from  teacher  to  pupil,  unchanged  in  all  the  years  since 
they  were  revealed  to  the  prophets  of  the  rites.      There  are  good 
reasons  for  believing  that  this  is   not   strictly  true :  the  majority  of 
the  great  ceremonies  may  be  performed  only  during  the  coldest  part 
of  the  year,  —  the  months  when  the  snakes  are  dormant.    No  perma- 
nent copies  of  the  pictures  were  ever  preserved  until  the  author 
painted   them ;  they  were   carried   from    season    to   season    in    the 
memories  of  men,  and  there  was  no  final  authority  in  the   tribe  to 
settle  questions   of  correctness.     But  it  is  probable  that  changes,  if 
they  occurred,  were  unintentional  and  wrought   slowly.     After  the 
writer  made  copies  of  these  pictures,  and  it  became  known  to  the 
medicine-men    that    he    had    copies    in    his   possession,   it  was   not 
uncommon  for  the  shamans,  pending  the  performance  of  a  ceremony, 
to  bring  young  men  who  were  to  assist  in  the  lodge,  ask  to  see  the 


46 


Introduction. 


Fig.  26.     Mask  of  yucca. 


paintings,  and  lecture  on  them  to  their  pupils,  pointing  out  the 
various  important  points,  and  thus,  no  doubt,  saving  mistakes  and 
corrections  in  the  medicine-lodge.  The  water-color  copies  were 
always  (as  the  shamans  knew)  kept  hidden  at  the  forbidden  season, 
and  never  shown  to  the  uninitiated  of  the  tribe. 

104.  Masquerade.  —  In  the  rites,  men  appear  representing  gods 
or  other  mythic  characters.  Sometimes  such  representations  are 
effected  by  means  of  paint  and  equipment  only,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  akaninili,  or  messenger  of  the  mountain  chant,314  who  is  dressed 
to  represent  the  prophet  Dsflyi  Neyani  as  he  appeared  after  the 
Butterfly  Goddess  had  transformed  him  ;  but  on  other  occasions 
masks  are  added  to  the  dress,  as  in  the  rites  of  the  night  chant. 
In  this  there  are  twenty-one  masks,267  made  of  sacred  buckskin,13 
for  representatives  of  the  gods  to  wear,  besides  a  mask  of  yucca 
leaves14  trimmed  with  spruce  twigs  (fig.  26),  which  the  patient 
wears  on  one  occasion.  The  buckskin  masks,  without  plumes  or 
collars,  are  kept  in  a  sack  by  the  shaman,  and  he  carries  them  on 
horseback  to  the  place  where  the  rites  are  to  be  performed  ;  there 


Introduction. 


47 


they  are  freshly  painted,  and  the  collars  and  plumes  are  added  just 
before  they  are  to  be  used  in  the  ceremony. 

105.  Plates  IV.   and  VII.   show  the  masks    as   they  are  actually 
worn,  and  exhibit  men  as  they  are   dressed  and   painted  to  repre- 
sent the  War  Gods.     In  plate  I.   we  get  representations  of   these 
masks  as  they  are   depicted  in  the    dry-paintings.     Fig.  27  shows 
the  mask  of  //astreyalri,  the  Talking  God,  as  it  appears  when  all 
is  ready  for  the  dance,  with  plume  and  collar  of  fresh  spruce  twigs 
applied.     Fig.  28  depicts  the  mask  of  a  yebaad,  or  female  yei.     The 
female  masks  cover  only  the  face,  leaving  the  hair  free.     The  male 
masks  (fig.  27)  cover  the  entire  head,  concealing  the  hair. 

106.  When  a  man  is  dressed  in  his  godly  costume  he  does  not 
speak  ;  he  only  makes  motions  and  utters  a  peculiar  cry,  —  each  god 
has  his  own  special  cry, — and  he  may  perform  acts  on  the  patient 
with  his  special  weapon  or  talisman.     The  masquerader,  they  say, 
is,  for  the  time  being,  no  longer  a  Navaho,  but  a  god,  and  a  prayer  to 
him  is  a  prayer  to  a  god.     When  he  enters  the  lodge  and  sits  down 
before  the  sick  man,  the  latter  hands  him  his  sacrifice  and  prays  to 
him  devoutly,  well  knowing  that  it  may  be  his  own  uncle  or  cousin, 
disguised  in  the  panoply  of  divinity,  who  receives  the  sacrifice. 


Fig.  27.     Mask  of  /fast.reyal/i. 


48 


Introduction. 


107.  Dance.  —  It  has  been  customary  with  travellers  to  speak  of 
Indian  ceremonials  as  dances.  This  is  chiefly  for  the  reason  that 
the  dance  most  attracts  the  attention  of  white  men,  and  the. other 
portions  of  the  work  are  likely  to  pass  unheeded.  Dancing  is 
rarely  the  most  important  element  of  an  Indian  ceremonial,  and 
among  the  Navahoes  it  is  always  a  minor  element.  In  some  of 
the  lesser  rites  it  does  not  occur  at  all.  In  the  nine  days'  cere- 
mony of  the  mountain  chant 
it  occurs  only  on  the  last 
night,  and  then  forms  but 
a  part  of  the  show,  —  rude 
dramatic  performances  and 
feats  of  legerdemain  (see 
fig.  30)  occupying  about  an 
equal  time  until  the  enter- 
tainment ends,  soon  after 
dawn.  In  the  nine  days' 
ceremony  of  the  night  chant, 
dancing  as  a  part  of  the 
ceremony  is  confined  to  the 
last  night,  although  undress 
rehearsals  of  the  dance  take 
place  after  sunset  for  a  few 
days  before. 

1 08.  These  dances  of  the 
Navaho,  although  accom- 
panied with  religious  sym- 
bolism, and  performed  often 
by  men  wearing  sacred  cos- 
tumes, are  undoubtedly  in- 
tended largely  to  entertain 
the  spectators.  While  but 
a  few  people  may  be  present 
during  the  first  eight  or  nine 
days  of  a  great  ceremony, 
a  large  crowd  always  gathers 

to  witness  the  performances  of  the  last  night,  and  many  people  stay 
up  all  night  to  do  this.  On  the  last  night  of  the  mountain  chant  the 
dances  are  picturesque  and  various.  Many  of  them  are  borrowed  from 
other  rites.  They  have  been  described  by  the  author  in  a  previous 
work.  On  the  last  night  of  the  night  chant  the  dance  and  song  vary 
but  little,  and  to  the  ordinary  observer  may  seem  not  to  vary  at  all. 
Yet  the  spectators  who  come  to  the  mountain  chant  are  not  more 
wakeful  and  watchful  than  those  who  come  to  the  night  chant.  The 


Fig.  28.     Mask  of  yebaad  or  goddess. 


Introduction. 


49 


Fig.  29.     Picture  of  ji/neole,  a  dry-painting  of  the  night  chant. 

dancing  is  always  rhythmical  and  well-timed.  Figures  are  often  intro- 
duced like  those  of  our  quadrilles  ;  but  no  round  dances,  like  our 
waltz  or  polka,  have  been  observed — the  rough  ground  is  not  suited 
for  such.  The  dancers  and  the  drummers  practise  long  in  private 
before  coming  to  the  public  exhibition. 

109.  Prayer.  —  In  a  paper  entitled  "The  Prayer  of  a  Navaho 
Shaman,"  315  the  author  has  published  a  long  composition,  called  a 
prayer  by  the  man  from  whom  he  received  it,  which  is  a  simple  nar- 
rative and  does  not  contain  a  word  of  supplication.  This  is  the  only 
prayer  of  such  character  obtained  from  a  Navaho.  Many  other  long 
prayers  have  been  recorded,  all  of  which  are  formed  on  a  common 
plan.  The  name  of  a  god  is  mentioned,  and  some  flattering  attri- 
butes are  given  to  him.  If  it  is  a  god  such  as  //astyeyal/i,  of  which 
there  are  more  than  one  of  the  same  name,  his  residence  is  men- 
tioned. He  is  informed  that  sacrifices  have  been  prepared  for  him. 
He  is  asked  to  remove  the  spell  of  disease.  Immediately  he  is 
assured  that  it  is  removed.  Then  he  is  asked  to  bestow  various 
blessings  on  the  supplicant  and  all  his  kindred  and  people.  The 


50  Introduction. 

prayer  is  given  out,  one  sentence  at  a  time,  by  the  shaman,  and  the 
patient  repeats  it  after  him,  sentence  by  sentence. 

no.  These  prayers,  repeated  by  two  voices,  sound  much  like  lita- 
nies, and  all  end  with  an  expression  (//o^ona  //astle)  analogous  to  the 
amen  of  Christian  prayers,  four  times  repeated ;  yet  the  Navaho 
prayers  show  in  their  spirit  no  indication  of  the  influence  of 
Christian  teaching.  They  are  purely  pagan  compositions.  The 
only  evidence  of  any  modern  influence  they  present  is  the  occa- 
sional inclusion  of  a  request  for  increase  of  wealth  in  the  shape 
of  horses  and  sheep.  A  typical  Navaho  prayer  from  the  rites  of 
kled^i  //a/a/  is  given  in  note  288. 

in.  Besides  these  long  prayers,  repeated  by  two  persons,  the 
shamans  have  many  monologue  prayers ;  there  are  prayers  silent 
and  vocal,  formulated  and  extempore,  used  by  both  priest  and  lay- 
man ;  and  there  are  short  devotional  sayings  which  may  be  classed 
as  benedictions  and  ejaculations. 

THE    LEGENDS. 

112.  Of  the  many  lengthy  myths  and  legends  obtained  by  the 
author  from  the  Navahoes,  three  have  been  selected  for  publication 
in  this  volume.     The  first  is  the  Origin  Legend  of  the  tribe  ;  the 
other  two  are  incomplete  rite-myths,  i.  e.,  rite-myths  told  by  men 
who  were  not  priests  of  the  associated  rites. 

113.  Versions.  —  As    might   be    expected    among  an    unlettered 
people,  thinly  scattered  over  a  wide  territory,  the  legends   of  the 
Navahoes  have  many  variants^.  No  two  men  will  tell  the  same  tale 
exactly  alike,  and  each  story-teller  will  probably  maintain  that  his 
own  version   is   the  only  reliable  one.     Variations    of   the    Origin 
Legend,  which  is  the  property  of  the  tribe  at  large,  and,  unlike  the 
rite-myths,  is  not  in  the  keeping  of  any  especial  order  or  priesthood, 
are  particularly  numerous ;  but  even   in  the  rite-myths,  as  told  by 
priests  of  the  rites,  versions  may  be  found.     Notwithstanding  these 
varieties,  the  tale-tellers  agree  substantially  in  the  more  important 
matters.     Of  the  two  rite-myths  given  in  this  work,  only  one  version 
of  each  was  procured ;  but  several  versions  of  the  Origin  Legend, 
complete  or  partial,  were  recorded.     The  one  here   published  was 
selected  as  being  the  most  complete,  extensive,  and  consistent  of  all. 
Other  versions  often  supplement  it.     The  narrators  sometimes  ac- 
knowledged   that    they   had  forgotten    episodes  which    others    had 
remembered  and  detailed.     The  learned  old  shaman,  /7a/a/i  Nez, 
forgot  to  tell  how  the  stars  were  made ;  while  a  younger  and  less 
erudite  person,  Jake  the  silversmith,  related  a  fair  version   of  this 
episode,  which  came  also  from  other  sources  to  the  writer.    Jake's 
version  of  the  Legend,  which  has  already  been  published,  is  desig- 


Introduction.  5 1 

nated  in  the  notes  as  Version  B ; 306  that  of  old  Torlino,  a  priest  of 
the  /tosoni  /za/a/,  is  designated  as  Version  A.  Other  versions  are 
alluded  to,  but  not  designated  by  letter  or  number.  Some  fragmen- 
tary versions  by  other  authors291  30°  have  been  published,  but  these 
are  not  quoted  in  the  notes. 

1 14.  Origin  Legend.  —  The  Origin  Legend  divides  itself  into  four 
very  distinct  parts  or  chapters,  which  are  named  :     I.  The  Story  of 
the   Emergence  ;  II.  Early  Events  in  the  Fifth  World  ;  III.  The 
War  Gods ;  IV.  The  Growth  of  the  Navaho  Nation.     The  name  of 
the  first  part  is  that  given  to   it  by  the  Navaho  story-tellers.     The 
names  of  the  other  parts  are  supplied  by  the  author.     The  first  part, 
The  Story  of  the  Emergence,  ends  when  it  is  related  that  the  people 
came  out  from  the  fourth  world  to   the  surface  of  this,  the  fifth 
world. 15 

1 1 5.  Rite-myths.  —  By  a  rite-myth  is  meant  a  myth  which  ac- 
counts for  the  work  of  a  ceremony,  for  its  origin,  for  its  introduction 
among  the  Navahoes,  or  for  all  these  things  combined.     The  Nava- 
hoes  celebrate  long  and  costly  ceremonies,  many  of  which  are  of 
nine  days'  duration.     Each  ceremony  has  connected  with  it  one  or 
more  myths,  or  legends  which  may  not  be  altogether  mythical. 

1 1 6.  When  a  rite-myth  is  told  by  a  priest  of  the  rite  to  which 
the  myth    belongs,  minute  and  often  tedious    particulars    concern- 
ing the  rite,  its  work,  symbolism,  and  sacrifices  are  introduced  into 
the  tale.     When  such  a  myth  is  told  by  one  who  is  not  a  priest 
of  the  rita  (although  he  may  be  a  priest  of  some  other  rite),  these 
esoteric  parts  are  altogether  omitted,  or  only  briefly  alluded  to.     To 
the  latter  class  belong  the  two  rite-myths  given  in  this  book.     They 
are  here  published  because  they  are  among  the  most  interesting 
and  ingenious  that  have  been  collected  among  the  Navahoes.     The 
attention  of  the  reader  is  directed,  in  the  notes,   to  a  few  places 
where  esoteric  or  ceremonial  matters  are  thought  to  be  referred  to. 
Tales  containing  ceremonial  allusions  in  full  are  reserved  for  future 
publication,  along  with  a  description  of  the  rites  to  which  they  per- 
tain, as  such   is   considered   the    more    appropriate    place  for   their 
publication. 

117.  In  one  version  of  the  Origin  Legend  (Version  A)  a  portion 
of  this  story  is  used  as  a  rite-myth.     It  is  embellished  with  prayers 
and  songs,  and  interspersed  with  allusions  to  ceremonial  work  which 
the  version  of  //a/a/i  Nez  does  not  contain  ;  but  in  other  respects  it 
is  inferior  to  the  latter.     Thus  embellished  it  contributes  a  share  to 
the  myth  of  the  ceremony  of   Ao^oni  7/a/a/,  or  chant  of  terrestrial 
beauty.     Even  in  the  version  of  //a/a/i  Nez,  the  songs  seem  intro- 
duced from  some  rite-myth,  and  scarcely  to  belong  to  the  original 
story. 


52  Introduction. 

118.  Whenever  an  opportunity  has  occurred  of  studying  a  rite 
with   its  associated  myth,  it  has  been  found  that  the   myth  never 
explains  all  the  symbolism  of  the  rite,  although  it  may  account  for 
all  the  more  important  acts.    A  primitive  and  underlying  symbolism, 
which  probably  existed  previous  to  the   establishment   of   the  rite, 
remains   unexplained   by  the   myth,   as   though   its   existence   were 
taken  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  required  no  explanation.     Some 
explanation  of  this  foundation  symbolism  may  be  found  in  the  Origin 
Legend,  or  in  other  early  legends  of  the  tribe  ;  but  something  re- 
mains which  even  these  do  not  explain. 

119.  Myths  of  tJie    Whirling  Logs.  —  In  the  ceremony  of  kled^i 


Fig.  30.     Alili  or  show  ("  dance  ")  of  the  nahikai  in  the  rite  of  the  mountain  chant. 


there  is  drawn  upon  the  floor  of  the  medicine-lodge  a  large 
dry-painting  which  is  very  imperfectly  represented  in  fig.  29.  The 
original  was  wrought  in  five  colors  and  was  about  12  feet  in  diame- 
ter. It  depicts  a  vision  of  the  prophet  Be"la//a/ini,  who  established 
the  rites  of  kled^i  ^a/a/.  On  one  occasion,  says  the  tale,  he  was  led, 
in  the  San  Juan  valley,  to  a  lake  on  the  borders  of  which  grew  four 
stalks  of  sacred  corn,  each  of  a  different  color.  In  the  centre  of  the 
lake  lay  two  logs  crossing  one  another  at  right  angles.  Near  both 
ends  of  each  log  sat  a  pair  of  yei,  or  genii,  male  and  female,  making 
eight  in  all.  On  the  shore  of  the  lake  stood  four  more  yei,  three  of 
whom  had  staves,  by  means  of  which  they  kept  the  crossed  logs 
away  from  the  shore  and  whirling  in  the  waters.  The  rainbow  god- 
dess, the  anthropomorphic  rainbow  of  the  Navahoes,  surrounded  the 
lake.  All  the  circumstances  of  this  Grange  scene  are  duly  symbol- 
ized in  the  painting. 


Introduction.  53 

1 20.  It   was   in   his   efforts  to  get   a  further  explanation  of  this 
extraordinary  picture  that  the  author  came  upon  the  story  of  Na/f- 
nes/7/ani.      It  is  not  the  story  that  explains  the  picture,  although  cer- 
tain passages  in  it  (pars.  481,  488)  might  seem  to  explain  it.     The 
story  to  which  the  picture   belongs  is  that  of  Bela//a#ni,  which  may 
some  day  be  published  in  connection  with  a  description  of  the  cere- 
mony of  kled^i  /^a/a/,  or  the  night  chant.     The  prophet  Bela-^a^ini, 
according  to  the  tale,  floated  down  the  San  Juan  River  in  a  hollow 
log,   until   he  came  to  the  whirling  lake,  where  he  saw  the  vision 
depicted  in  the  dry-painting.      But  when  the  shaman  had  finished 
telling  the  story  of  Bela/za/mi  he  said  :  "  There  is  another  story  of 
a  man  who  floated  down  the  San  Juan  River  in  a  hollow  log.     It  is  a 
story  belonging  to  a  different  rite,  the  atsosid^e  7za/a/.     Would  you 
like  to  hear  it  ?  "     It  was  thus  that  the  story  of  Na^i'nes^/zani  came 
to  be  told.     The  narrator  of  the  two  tales  was  a  priest  of  the  kled,si 
//a/a7,  but  not  of  the  atsosid^e  /^a/a/;  hence  one  tale  is  crowded  with 
allusions  to  acts  in  the   ceremony,  while  the  other,  as    here  pub- 
lished, has  few  such  allusions. 

121.  The  Great  Shell  of  Kmtyel.  — The  story  of  the  Great  Shell 
of  Kintyel,  as  here  given,  is  a  fragment  of  a  rite-myth,  — the  myth 
of  the  yoid^re  /^a/a/,  or  yoi  /^a/a/250  (bead  chant),  a  nine  days'  healing 
ceremony.     It  conveys  a  moral  often  found  in  Navaho  tales,  which 
is,  that  we  must  not  despise  the  poor  and  humble.     They  may  be 
favored  by  the  gods   and  prove  themselves,  to-morrow,  more  potent 
than  those  who  yesterday  despised  and  mocked  them.     It  also  sig- 
nalizes the  triumph  of  a  poor  Navaho  over  wealthy  Pueblos. 

122.  Translation  of  Legends. — In   rendering  the   Navaho   tales 
into  English,  the  author  has  not  confined  himself  to  a  close  literal 
translation.    Such  translation  would  often  be  difficult  to  understand, 
and,  more  often  still,  be  uninteresting  reading.     He  has  believed  it 
to  be  his  duty  to  make  a  readable   translation,  giving  the  spirit  of 
the  original  rather  than  the  exact  words.     The  tales  were  told  in 
fluent   Navaho,  easy  of  comprehension,  and  of  such  literary  perfec- 
tion as  to  hold  the  hearer's  attention.     They  should  be  translated 
into  English  of  a  similar  character,  even  if  words  have  to  be  added 
to  make  the  sense  clear.     Such  privileges  are  taken  by  the  transla- 
tors of  the  Bible  and  of  the  classic  authors.     Still  the  writer  has 
taken  pains  never  to  exceed  the  metaphor  or  descriptive  force  of  the 
original,  and  never  to  add  a  single  thought  of  his  own.     If  he  has 
erred  in  rendering  the  spirit  of  the  savage  authors,  it  has  been  by 
diminishing  rather  than  by  exaggerating.     He  has  erred  on  the  side 
of  safety.     He  has  endeavored  to  "  tune  the  sitar  "  rather  low  than 
high.15a     Again,  the  original  was  often  embellished  with  pantomime 
and  vocal  modulation  which  expressed  more  than  the  mere  words, 


54  Introduction. 

and  which  the  writer  is  unable  to  represent,  and  it  contained  extem- 
porized onomatopes  which  no  letters  can  express. 

123.  Texts.  —  The  men  who  narrated  to  the  author  the  tales  con- 
tained in  this  book  were  not  men  of  unlimited  leisure,  as  many  sup- 
pose the  Indians  to  be  ;  they  were  popular  shamans,  or  medicine- 
men, who  had  numerous  engagements  to  conduct  ceremonies  during 
the  winter  months,  and  it  was  only  during  the  winter  months  that 
they  permitted  themselves  to  tell  the  tales.     It  was  usually  with 
difficulty  that  arrangements  were  made  with  one  of  these  shamans 
to  devote  a  period  of  two  or  three  weeks  to  the  service  of  the  author. 
Then,  too,  they  had  farms  and  stock  which  demanded  their  care. 
Neither  was  the  author  a  man  of  unbounded  leisure.     Rarely  could 
he  devote  more  than  two  or  three  hours  out  of  twenty-four  to  the 
work  of  ethnography.     It  has  happened  more  than  once  that  he  has 
been  obliged  to  break  an  engagement  made  with  a  shaman,  at  a  cost 
of  considerable  trouble  and  money,  in  order  to  go  on  detached  service 
away  from  his  proper  station.     For  these  reasons  it  was  not  prac- 
ticable to  record  the  original  Indian  texts  of  all  the  stories.     The 
author  had  to  choose  between  copious  texts  and  copious  tales.     He 
chose  the  latter.     But  some  texts  have  been  recorded.    In  order  that 
the  reader  may  judge  how  closely  the  liberal  translation  here  offered 
follows  the  original,  the  Navaho  text  of  the  opening  passages  —  ten 
paragraphs  —  of  the   Origin  Legend,  with  interlinear  translations, 
are  given  in  the  notes.     The  texts  of  songs,  prayers,  and  interesting 
passages  may  also  be  found  in  the  notes. 

ALPHABET    USED. 

124.  Ever  since  the  present  alphabet  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
was  established  (in  1880),  it  has  been  the  author's  custom  to  use  it 
in  spelling  Indian  words.      But  heretofore  he  has  written  mostly 
for  the  scientific  world,  for  ethnologists  and  philologists  who  either 
were  familiar  with  the  alphabet,  or  were  willing  to  constantly  refer 
to  it  in  reading.     As  the  present  work  is  designed  to  reach  a  wider 
circle  of  readers,  the  propriety  of  using  the  alphabet  of  the  Bureau 
becomes  doubtful.     Many  of  the  author's  friends  have  begged  him 
not  to  use  it  in  this  collection  of  tales,  believing  that  its  unusual 
characters  would  embarrass  the  average  reader  and  detract  from  the 
interest  of  the  work.     Another  system  has,  therefore,  been  devised, 
according  to  which  consonants  printed  in  Roman  letters  have  the 
ordinary  English  sounds,  while  those  printed  in  Italics  have  sounds 
analogous  to  the  English  but  not  identical  with  them.     The  vowels, 
when  unmarked,  have  the  continental  sounds.     When  these  sounds 
are  modified,  diacritical  marks  are  added  in  accordance  with  the 
latest  edition  of  Webster's  Dictionary.     The  sound  of  English  a  in 


Introduction.  5  5 

what  is  indicated  by  a.  The  only  diphthong  is  ai,  which  has  the 
sound  of  English  i  in  pine.  One  mark  not  employed  in  Webster's 
orthoepy  is  used  in  this  book,  viz.,  the  inverted  comma  after  a 
vowel  to  show  that  it  is  aspirated. 

125.  According  to  this  arrangement,  the  casual  reader  will  find 
the  Indian  words  easily  legible.  If  he  takes  the  trouble  to  consult 
this  and  the  preceding  paragraph  he  may  pronounce  the  words 
almost  exactly  as  a  Navaho  would  ;  if  not  he  may,  at  least,  pronounce 
them  in  a  way  that  few  Navahoes  would  fail  to  comprehend.  At  all 
events,  to  the  majority  of  readers,  a  perfect  pronunciation  of  the 
Indian  words  is  immaterial.  Many  white  men,  living  within  the 
borders  of  the  Navaho  land,  converse  with  these  Indians  in  a  jargon 
or  debased  language  which  might  be  spelled  in  English  characters 
with  their  ordinary  English  values.  For  example,  let  us  take  the 
word  for  hut  or  house.  This  is  properly  pronounced  /zo^-an  ;  but  the 
whites  in  New  Mexico  generally  call  it  hogan,  and  the  Navahoes 
never  fail  to  understand  the  word  as  thus  pronounced.  In  this  form 
it  is  an  adopted  English  word  in  the  Southwest.  The  following  are 
the  values  of  the  consonants  when  printed  in  Italics  :  — 

d  has  the  sound  of  English  th  in  this. 

g  has  a  sound  unknown  in  English,  gh  imperfectly  represents  it. 
It  is  the  £  of  the  Dakota,  or  the  Arabic  ghain. 

h  has  the  sound  of  German  ch  in  machen. 

/  is  an  aspirated  1  unknown  in  English,  hi  imperfectly  represents 
it.  It  is  formed  with  the  side  rather  than  with  the  tip  of  the  tongue. 

s  has  the  sound  of  English  sh  in  shot. 

t  has  the  sound  of  English  th  in  thing. 

z  has  the  sound  of  English  z  in  azure. 

c,  j,  q,  r,  and  x  are  not  used.  The  sound  of  English  ch  in  church 
is  represented  by  tj ;  that  of  English  j  in  jug,  by  d^. 

SPELLING    OF    NAVAHO. 

126.  In  the  many  papers  about  the  Navahoes  which  the  author  has 
previously  written  he  has  spelled  the  name  of  the  tribe  according  to 
the  Spanish  system  "  Navajo,"  with  the  plural  also  in  Spanish  form, 
"  Navajos."  In  the  present  work  he  spells  it,  according  to  English 
orthography,  "  Navaho,"  with  an  English  plural,  "  Navahoes,"  and 
he  thus  intends  to  spell  it  in  the  future.  This  he  does  because  the 
Spanish  spelling  is  misleading  to  the  majority  of  English  readers. 
It  may  properly  be  asked  why  he  should  adopt  an  English  orthogra- 
phy for  Navaho,  a  name  of  Spanish  origin,  while  he  retains  the  mis- 
leading Spanish  orthography  of  San  Juan.  It  is  not  sufficient,  in 
reply,  to  say  that  the  territory  of  the  Navaho  has  been  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  United  States  since  1848,  and  that  we  have  thus 


56  Introduction. 

acquired  the  right  to  spell  this  name  in  our  own  way ;  for  a  thou- 
sand other  names  of  Spanish  origin  have  marked  our  map  as  long, 
which  we  never  ventured  to  change,  either  in  spelling  or  pronuncia- 
tion. Perhaps  the  best  defence  to  be  made  of  our  course  is  that  the 
name  Navaho  exists  nowhere  but  within  our  borders.  If  we  change 
the  spelling  here,  we  do  not  conflict  with  the  spelling  elsewhere. 
But  there  are  scores  of  San  Juans  in  Spanish  America.  We  could 
not  change  the  spelling  of  our  San  Juan  without  confusion.  It  were 
better  that  we  should  follow  the  example  of  Lord  Byron  and  pro- 
nounce it  Jew'an  ;  but  this  the  people  of  the  Southwest  will  probably 
never  do.  They  will  speak  of  the  stream  as  the  "  San  Won  "  or  the 
"  San  Whon  "  for  all  time.  Furthermore,  the  English  spelling  of 
Navaho  is  not  a  new  thing  with  the  writer.  Many  have  already 
adopted  it. 

NOTES. 

126.  In  preparing  the  notes  the  author  has  usually  limited  himself 
to  such  matters  as  he  believes   he  only  can  explain,  or  such  as,  at 
least,  he  can  explain  better  than  any  one  else.     In  a  few  cases  he 
has  given  information  on   subjects   not  generally  known   and   not 
easily  to  be  investigated.     The  temptation  to  wander  into  the  seduc- 
tive paths  of  comparative  mythology,  and  to  speculate  on  the  more 
recondite  significance  of  the  myths,  had  to  be  resisted  if  the  work 
were  to  be  kept   within   the  limits  of  one  volume.     Resemblances 
between  the  tales  of  the  Navahoes  and  those  of  other  peoples,  civil- 
ized and  savage,  ancient  and  modern,  are  numerous  and   marked  ; 
but  space  devoted  to  them  would  be  lost  to  more  important  subjects. 
Again,  many  of  the  readers  of  this   book  may  be  prepared,  better 
than  the  author,  to  note  these  resemblances. 

SHAMANS.16 

127.  So  much  has  been   said  against  the  medicine-men  of  the 
Indians  by  various  writers,  who  accuse  them  of  being  reactionaries, 
mischief-makers,   and  arrant   deceivers,  that  the  writer   teels    con- 
strained to  give  some  testimony  in  their  favor,  —  in  favor,  at  least, 
of  those  he  has  met  among  the  Navahoes;  he  will  not  speak  now  for 
other  tribes. 

128.  There  are,  among  the  Navahoes,  charlatans  and  cheats  who 
treat  disease  ;  men  who  pretend  to  suck  disease  out  of  the  patient 
and  then  draw  from  their  own  mouths  pebbles,  pieces  of  charcoal,  or 
bodies   of  insects,  claiming  that  these  are  the  disease  which  they 
have  extracted.     But  the  priests  of  the  great  rites  are  not  to  be 
classed  with  such.    All  of  these  with  whom  the  writer  is  acquainted 
are  above  such  trickery.    They  perform  their  ceremonies  in  the  firm 
conviction  that  they  are  invoking  divine  aid,  and  their  calling  lends 


Introduction. 


57 


Fig.  31.     Zferti/i  Natloi. 

dignity  to  their  character.     They  interfere  little  with  the  political 
affairs  of  the  tribe. 

129.  Smiling  Chanter,  —  It  is  a  source  of  great  regret  that  a  bet- 
ter likeness  cannot  be  presented  of  //a/a/i  Natloi  than  that  shown 
in  fig.  31.  It  is  reproduced  from  a  painting  which  was  copied  from 
a  dim  kodak  photograph.  His  name  may  be  translated  Smiling 
Chanter,  or  Smiling  Doctor  ;  an  angry  or  unpleasant  expression  is 
never  seen  on  his  face.  He  is  also  called  //a^a/i  Pa//o^6ni,  which 
may  be  translated  Happy  or  Good-natured  Chanter.  He  is  a  priest 
of  the  kled^i  ^a/a/,  or  night  chant.  He  would  be  considered  a  man 
of  high  character  in  any  community.  He  is  dignified,  courteous, 
kind,  honest,  truthful,  and  self-respecting.  But  his  dignity  is  not  of 
the  pompous  kind.  He  has  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  makes  an  excel- 
lent joke,  and  is  a  good  mimic;  but,  for  all  his  fun,  he  is  neither 


58  Introduction. 

vulgar  nor  unkind.  He  never  begged  from  the  author,  and  never 
made  a  bargain  with  him  in  advance  for  his  services,  or  named  a 
price  for  them  when  he  was  done.  He  always  took  the  greatest 
pains  to  explain  everything,  and,  after  the  writer  had  been  duly 
initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  his  order,  he  withheld  nothing.  To 
him  we  are  indebted  for  the  story  of  Na/fnes///ani. 

130.  Tall  Chanter.  —  Figure  32  represents  an  aged  priest  named 
//a/a/i  N£z,  or  Tall  Chanter.     He  was  the  first  who  could  be  per- 
suaded to  explain  to  the  author  the  ceremonies  or 'relate  the  rite- 
myths  ;  but  when  he  set  the  example,  others  were  found  to  follow. 
He  also  is  a  priest  of  the  night  chant.     Of  late  years  he  has  become 
unpopular  as  a  shaman,  owing  to  an  increasing  irritability  of  tem- 
per ;  but  he  exhibits  no  envy  of  his  more  popular  rivals.     He  per- 
haps has  a  better  knowledge  of  the  legends  than  any  other  man  in 
the  tribe.     Before  he  would  confide  any  of  his  secrets  to  the  author 
he  said :  "  The  chanters  among  the  Navahoes  are  all  brothers.     If 
you  would  learn  our  secrets  you  must  be  one  of  us.     You  must  for- 
ever be  a  brother  to  me.     Do  you  promise  this  ? "     He  has  ever 
since  addressed  the  author  as  Sitsi'li,  "  My  younger  brother,"  and 
has  in  turn  been  called  5inai,  "  My  elder  brother." 

131.  Ethics.  —  Among  themselves,  these  men  have  a  code  of  ethics 
which  is,  in  general,  more  honestly  upheld  than  the  code  of  our  own 
medical  profession.    They  exhibit  no  jealousy  of  one  another.    They 
boast  not  of  the  excellence  of  the  particular  rite  they  practise.  They 
assist  and  counsel  one  another.     If  a  medicine-man,  in  performing  a 
rite,  finds  that  his  supply  of  some  sacred  article  is  exhausted,  he 
sends  to  the  nearest  medicine-man  for  it.     If  the  latter  has  it,  he  is 
obliged  to  give,  and  is  not  allowed  to  receive  payment  in  return. 

132.  Torlino.  —  They  are  as  willing  as  any  other  Indians  to  learn 
the  white  man's  philosophy.     Old  Torlino,  a  priest  of  //o^oni  /za/a/, 
sent  a  son  to  school  at  Carlisle,  and  when  the  young  man  returned 
he  no  doubt  imparted  to  his  father  much  that  he  had  learned  there. 
The  writer  sent  for  the  old  man  to  get  from  him  the  myth  of  hozom 
//a/a/.     Torlino  began  :    "  I  know  the  white  men  say  the  world  is 
round,  and  that  it  floats  in  the  air.     My  tale  says  the  world  is  flat, 
and  that  there  are  five  worlds,  one  above  another.     You  will   not 
believe  my  tale,  then,   and  perhaps  you  do  not  want  to  hear  it." 
Being  assured  that  the  tale  was  earnestly  desired,  despite  of  all  white 
men's  theories,  he  proceeded.     "  I  shall  tell  you  the  truth,  then.     I 
shall  tell  you  all  that  I  heard  from  the  old  men  who  taught  me,  as 
well  as  I  can  now  remember.    Why  should  I  lie  to  you  ?  "    And  then 
he  made  the  interesting  asseveration  which  is  here  literally  trans- 
lated :  "  I  am  ashamed  before  the  earth ;  I  am  ashamed  before  the 
heavens ;  I  am  ashamed  before  the  dawn  ;  I  am  ashamed  before  the 


Introduction.  59 

evening  twilight ;  I  am  ashamed  before  the  blue  sky  ;  I  am  ashamed 
before  the  darkness  ;  I  am  ashamed  before  the  sun  ;  I  am  ashamed 
before  that  standing  within  me  which  speaks  with  me  (my  con- 
science !  ).274  Some  of  these  things  are  always  looking  at  me.  I  am 
never  out  of  sight.  Therefore  I  must  tell  the  truth.  That  is  why  I 
always  tell  the  truth.  I  hold  my  word  tight  to  my  breast." 

133.  Medical  Practice.  —  Often  have   the    shamans  come  to   the 
author  for  treatment  for  themselves  and  their  friends,   and  they 


Fig.  32.    The  Shaman  #a/a/i  Nez  (Tall  Chanter). 

never  made  any  secret  of  this,  but  asked  for  medicine  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  laity  of  their  own  tribe.  They  do  not  pretend  to  deal  in 
panaceas.  On  the  other  hand,  in  cases  where  the  author  has  failed 
to  give  prompt  relief  to  a  sick  Indian,  they  have  come  in  all  sincerity 
and  politeness  and  said,  "  I  know  a  remedy  for  that  difficulty.  Will 
you  let  me  try  it  ?  "  They  do  not  confine  themselves  to  the  practice 
of  their  shamanistic  rites.  They  use  various  plants  in  the  treatment 
of  disease,  and  these,  in  simple,  acute  cases,  they  administer  without 
prayer,  sacrifice,  or  incantation. 

A    LAST    WORD    (TO    POETS    AND    OTHERS). 

134.  It  is  possible  that  poets,  novelists,  travellers,  and  compilers 
will  search  this  humble  volume  and  cull  from  it  facts  and  fancies, 


60  Introduction. 

which,  clothed  in  fairer  diction,  may  add  interest  to  their  pages. 
The  author  does  not  ask  that  such  writers  shall  acknowledge  the 
source  of  their  inspiration.  This  is  more  than  he  has  a  right  to 
expect.  Our  greatest  poets  have  borrowed  from  sources  as  obscure 
and  never  named  their  creditors.  The  author  has  often,  ere  now, 
experienced  the  pleasure  of  seeing  his  thoughts  and  discoveries 
blazoned  in  print  over  other  names.  But  he  ventures  to  make  a  few 
requests  of  the  literary  borrower.  He  begs  that  the  latter  will  not 
garble  or  distort  what  is  here  written,  —  that  he  will  not  put  alien 
thoughts  into  the  minds  of  these  pagan  heroes  ;  that  he  will  not  arm 
them  with  the  weapons  nor  clothe  them  in  the  habiliments  of  an 
alien  race ;  that  he  will  not  make  them  act  incongruous  parts. 

135.  Stephen  Powers,  in  his  "  Tribes  of  California"326  (page  38), 
gives,  in  simple  and  direct  language,  the  story  of  how  fire  came  to 
the  Karok  nation.  A  few  years  after  he  wrote,  some  one  worked  his 
story  into  a  "  poem,"  which  appeared,  most  artistically  illustrated,  in 
one  of  our  leading  magazines.  In  this  poem  the  Coyote,  in  a  quan- 
dary, is  represented  as  "  stroking  his  goatee."  Coyotes  have  no 
goatees  ;  Indians  have  no  goatees.  The  act  of  stroking  the  goatee, 
in  thought  or  perplexity,  is  the  special  mannerism  of  a  nervous 
American.  No  allusion  could  be  more  out  of  place  in  an  Indian 
legend.  Should  the  poet  referred  to  ever  select  any  of  the  tales  in 
this  book  to  be  tortured  into  a  poem,  I  beg  that  he  will  not,  even  for 
the  sake  of  making  a  faulty  rhyme,  put  a  beard  on  the  chin  of  the 
Navaho  Coyote  God. 

WASHINGTON    MATTHEWS. 

1262  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  AVENUE,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
May  ist,  1896. 


PLATE  II.     SAN    FRANCISCO   MOUNTAIN   (Z>OKOSLLD),   ARIZONA. 
(The  sacred  mountain  of  the  West.) 


LEGENDS. 


THE    NAVAHO    ORIGIN    LEGEND. 


I.     THE   STORY   OF   THE   EMERGENCE. 

136.  At   Tb'bi/^aski^/i  (in  the  middle  of  the  first  world),  white 
arose  in  the  east,  and  they 1T  regarded  it  as  day  there,  they  say  ;  blue 
rose  in  the  south,  and   still  it  was  day  to  them,   and  they  moved 
around  ;  yellow  rose  in  the  west  and  showed  that  evening  had  come  ; 
then  dark  arose  in  the  north,  and  they  lay  down  and  slept.18 

137.  At   Tb'bi/7/askiVi  water  flowed  out  (from   a  central  source) 
in  different  directions ;  one  stream  flowed  to  the  east,  another  to  the 
south,  and  another  to  the  west.     There  were  dwelling-places  on  the 
border  of  the  stream  that  flowed  to  the  east,  on  that  which  flowed  to 
the  south,  and  on  that  which  flowed  to  the  west  also. 

138.  To  the  east  there  was  a  place   called  Tan  (Corn),   to  the 
south  a  place  called   Nahodfoola,  and  to  the  west  a  place    called 
Zokatsosaka^   (Standing   Reed).     Again,  to  the  east  there  was  a 
place  called  Essa/ai  (One  Pot),  to  the  south  a  place  called  ToV/ad^M/ 
(They  Come   Often  for  Water),   and  to  the  west   a   place   called 
Dsi//it.ribe^o<£-a.n  (House  Made  of  the  Red  Mountain).     Then,  again, 
to  the  east  there  was  a  place  called  Ze'ya^o^-an  (Under-ground  House), 
to  the  south  a  place  called  T^iltriW/za  (Among  Aromatic  Sumac), 
and  to  the  west  a  place  called  Tse'/itsibe^ogan  (House  Made  of  Red 
Rock). 

139.  Holatjf  Di/yi7e  (dark  ants)  lived  there.     HolatJi  Litsi  (red 
ants)  lived  there.      Tanilai  (dragon  flies)  lived  there.     T^alUa  (yel- 
low  beetles)    lived   there.      Womtli'zi    (hard    beetles)    lived    there. 
Tse'yoa/i  (stone-carrier  beetles)  lived  there.    Km/i'.sin  (black  beetles) 
lived  there.     MaiUan  (coyote-dung  beetles)    lived   there.      T^apani 
(bats)    lived    there.        Tbtso'    (white-faced    beetles)     lived    there. 
WomstnWi  (locusts)  lived  there.     WonistnWikai  (white  locusts)  lived 
there.     These  twelve  people  started  in  life  there.19 

140.  To  the  east  extended  an  ocean,  to  the  south  an  ocean,  to 
the  west  an  ocean,  and  to  the  north  an  ocean.     In  the  ocean  to 
the  east  lay  Tieholtsodi  ;   he  was    chief  of   the  people  there.      In 
the  ocean  to  the   south    lived   77zaltla//ale    (Blue    Heron),  who  was 


64  Navaho  Legends. 

chief  of  the  people  there.  In  the  ocean  to  the  west  lay 
(Frog),  who  was  chief  of  the  people  there.  In  the  ocean  to  the 
north  was  I<r/nifdsi/kai  (White  Mountain  Thunder),  and  he  was  chief 
of  the  people  there.20 

141.  The    people    quarrelled  among  themselves,   and  this  is  the 
way   it    happened.       They    committed    adultery,    one    people   with, 
another.     Many  of  the  women  were  guilty.     They  tried  to  stop  it, 
but  they  could  not.     Tieholtsodi,  the  chief  in  the  east,  said  :  "  What 
shall  we  do  with  them?     They  like  not  the  land    they  dwell  in." 
In  the  south    Blue    Heron   spoke  to  them,  and  in  the  west    Frog 
said  :  "  No  longer  shall  you  dwell  here,  I  say.     I  am  chief  here." 
To  the  north  White  Mountain  Lightning  said :  "  Go  elsewhere  at 
once.     Depart  from  here  !  " 

142.  When  again  they  sinned  and  again  they  quarrelled,  Tiehol- 
tsodi, in  the  east,  would  not  speak  to  them  ;  Blue  Heron,  in  the 
south,  would   not    speak  to  them  ;    Frog,  in    the  west,  would   say 
nothing ;  and  White    Mountain  Thunder,   in  the  north,  would  not 
speak  to  them. 

143.  Again,  at  the  end  of  four  nights,  the  same  thing  happened. 
Those  who  dwelt  at  the  south  again  committed  crime,  and  again 
they  had  contentions.     One  woman  and  one  man  sought  to  enter 
in  the  east  (to  complain  to  the  chief),  but    they  were  driven  out. 
In  the    south  they  sought    to   go    in  where   Blue    Heron   lay,  but 
again  they  were    driven    out.      In    the  west,  where  Frog  was  the 
chief,  again  they  tried  to  enter ;  but  again  they  were  driven  out. 
To  the  north  again  they  were  driven  out.     (The  chief)  said  :  "  None 
of  you  (shall  enter  here).     Go  elsewhere  and  keep  on  going."  That 
night   at   Naho</oola   they  held  a  council,  but    they  arrived  at    no 
decision.     At  dawn  Tieholtsodi  began  to  talk.     "  You  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  my  words.     Everywhere  you  disobey  me ;  you  must  go  to 
some  other  place.     Not  upon  this  earth  shall  you  remain."     Thus 
he  spoke  to  them. 

144.  Among  the  women,  for  four  nights    they  talked    about    it. 
At  the  end  of  the  fourth  night,  in  the  morning,  as  they  were  rising, 
something  white    appeared  in  the    east.     It    appeared   also    in  the 
south,  the  west,  and  the  north.     It  looked  like  a  chain  of  moun- 
tains, without  a  break,  stretching  around  them.     It  was  water  that 
surrounded  them.     Water  impassable,  water  insurmountable,  flowed 
all  around.     All  at  once  they  started. 

145.  They  went  in  circles  upward  till  they  reached  the  sky.     It 
was  smooth.     They  looked  down  ;    but   there  the  water  had  risen, 
and    there  was    nothing    else    but  water   there.     While    they  were 
flying    around,  one    having  a  blue    head  thrust  out  his  head  from 
the    sky  and  called  to  them,  saying :    "  In    here,  to  the  eastward, 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  65 

there  is  a  hole."     They  entered  the  hole  and  went  through  it  up 
to  the  surface  (of  the  second  world). 

146.  The   blue   one   belonged  to  the   //ajtmsidme',  or   Swallow 
People.21     The  Swallow  People  lived  there.     A  great  many  of  their 
houses,  rough  and  lumpy,  lay  scattered  all  around.     Each  tapered 
toward  the  top,  and  at  that  part  there  was  a  hole  for  entrance.     A 
great  many  people  approached  and  gathered  around  275  the  strangers, 
but  they  said  nothing. 

147.  The  first  world  was  red   in  color ;  the  second  world,   into 
which  the  people  had  now  entered,  was  blue.22     They  sent  out  two 
couriers,  a  Locust  and  a  White  Locust,  to  the  east,  to  explore  the 
land  and  see  if  there  were  in  it  any  people  like  themselves.     At 
the  end  of  two  days  the  couriers  returned,  and  said  that  in  one  day's 
travel  they  had  reached  the  edge  of  the  world  —  the  top  of  a  great 
cliff  that  arose  from  an  abyss  whose  bottom  they  could  not  see ;  but 
that  they  found  in  all  their  journey  no  people,  no  animals  of  any 
kind,  no  trees,  no  grass,  no  sage-brush,  no  mountains,  nothing  but 
bare,   level  ground.     The   same  couriers   were  then  dispatched  in 
turn  to  the  south,   to   the   west,   and  to   the    north.      They  were 
gone  on  each  journey  two  days,  and  when  they  returned  related, 
as    before,    that    they    had    reached    the   edge   of   the   world,    and 
discovered   nothing   but  an  uninhabited  waste.       Here,   then,  the 
strangers  found  themselves  in  the  centre  of  a  vast  barren  plain, 
where  there  was   neither  food  nor  a  kindred  people.     When  the 
couriers  had  returned  from  the  north,  the  Swallows  visited  the  camp 
of  the  newly  arrived  people,  and  asked  them  why  they  had  sent  out 
the  couriers  to  the  east.     "  We  sent  them  out,"  was  the  reply,  "  to 
see  what  was  in  the  land,  and  to  see  if  there  were  any  people  like 
ourselves  here."     "  And  what  did  your  couriers  tell  you  ?"  asked 
the  Swallows.     "  They  told  us  that   they  came  to  the  edge  of  the 
world,  yet  found  no  plant  and  no  living  thing  in  all  the  land."     (The 
same  questions  were  asked  and  the  same  answers  given  for  the  other 
points  of  the  compass.)     "  They  spoke  the  truth,"  said  the  Swallow 
People.     "  Had  you  asked  us  in  the  beginning  what  the  land  con- 
tained, we-  would  have  told  you  and   saved   you  all  your  trouble. 
Until  you  came,  no  one  has  ever  dwelt  in  all  this  land  but  our- 
selves."    The  people  then  said  to  the  Swallows  :  "You  understand 
our  language  and  are  much  like  us.     You  have  legs,  feet,  bodies, 
heads,  and  wings,  as  we  have  :  why  cannot  your  people  and  our  people 
become  friends  ? "    "  Let  it  be  as  you  wish,"  said  the  Swallows,  and 
both  parties  began  at  once  to  treat  each  other  as  members  of  one 
tribe  ;  they  mingled  one  among  the  other,  and  addressed  one  another 
by  the  terms  of  relationship,  as,  my  brother,  my  sister,  my  father, 
my  son,  etc.23 


66  Navaho  Legends. 

148.  They  all  lived  together  pleasantly  and  happily  for  twenty- 
three  days  ;  but  on  the  twenty-fourth  night  one  of  the  strangers 
made  too  free  with  the  wife  of  the  Swallow  chief,  and  next  morning, 
when  the  latter   found  out  what   had   happened,  he   said   to   the 
strangers  :  "  We  have  treated  you  as  friends,  and  thus  you  return  our 
kindness.     We  doubt  not  that  for  such  crimes  you  were  driven  from 
the  lower  world,  and  now  you  must  leave  this.    This  is  our  land  and 
we  will  have  you  here  no  longer.     Besides,  this  is  a  bad  land.     Peo- 
ple are  dying  here  every  day,  and,  even  if  we  spare  you,  you  cannot 
live  here  long."     The  Locusts  took  the  lead  on  hearing  this ;  they 
soared  upwards  ;  the  others  followed,  and  all  soared  and  circled  till 
they  reached  the  sky. 

149.  When  they  reached  the  sky  they  found  it,  like  the  sky  of  the 
first  world,  smooth  and  hard  with  no  opening  ;  but  while  they  were 
circling  round  under  it,  they  saw  a  white  face  peering  out  at  them, 
—  it  was  the  face  of  Ni'lUi,  the  Wind.     He  called  to  them  and  told 
them  if  they  would  fly  to  the  south  they  would  find  a  hole  through 
which  they  could  pass ;  so  off  they  flew,  as  bidden,  and  soon  they 
discovered  a  slit  in  the  sky  which  slanted  upwards  toward  the  south  ; 
through  this  slit  they  flew,  and  soon  entered  the  third  world  in  the 
south. 

150.  The  color  of  the  third  world  was  yellow.22     Here  they  found 
nothing  but  the  Grasshopper  People.     The  latter  gathered  around 
the  wanderers  in  great  numbers,  but  said  nothing.     They  lived  in 
holes  in  the  ground  along  the  banks  of  a  great  river  which  flowed 
through  their  land  to  the  east.     The  wanderers  sent  out  the  same 
Locust  messengers  that  they  had  sent  out  in  the  second  world  to 
explore  the  land  to  the  east,  to  the  south,  to  the  west,  to  the  north, 
to  find  out  what  the  land  contained,  and  to  see  if  there  were  any 
kindred  people  in  it ;  but  the  messengers  returned  from  each  jour- 
ney after  an  absence  of  two  days,  saying  they  had  reached  the  end 
of  the  world,  and  that  they  had  found  a  barren  land  with  no  people 
in  it  save  the  Grasshoppers.24 

151.  When  the  couriers  returned  from  their  fourth  journey,  the 
two  great  chiefs  of  the  Grasshoppers  visited  the  strangers  and  asked 
them  why  they  had  sent  out  the  explorers,  and  the  strangers  an- 
swered that  they  had  sent  them  out  to  see  what  grew  in  the  land, 
and  to  find  if  there  were  any  people  like  themselves  in  it.     "And 
what  did  your  couriers  find  ?  "  said  the  Grasshopper  chiefs.     "  They 
found  nothing  save  the  bare  land  and  the  river,  and  no  people  but 
yourselves."     "There  is  nothing  else  in  the  land,"  said  the  chiefs. 
"  Long  we  have  lived  here,  but  we  have  seen  no  other  people  but 
ourselves  until  you  came." 

152.  The  strangers  then  spoke  to  the  Grasshoppers,  as  they  had 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  67 

spoken  to  the  Swallows  in  the  second  world,  and  begged  that  they 
might  join  them  and  become  one  people  with  them.  The  Grasshop- 
pers consented,  and  the  two  peoples  at  once  mingled  among  one 
another  and  embraced  one  another,  and  called  one  another  by  the 
endearing  terms  of  relationship,  as  if  they  were  all  of  the  same  tribe. 

153.  As  before,  all  went  well  for  twenty-three  days;  but  on  the 
twenty-fourth  one   of   the  strangers    served  a  chief  of  the  Grass- 
hoppers as  the  chief  of  the  Swallows  had  been  served  in  the  loWer 
world.     In  the  morning,  when  the  wrong  was  discovered,  the  chief 
reviled  the  strangers  and  bade  them  depart.    "  For  such  crimes,"  he 
said,  "  I  suppose  you  were  chased  from  the  world  below  :  you  shall 
drink  no  more  of  our  water,  you  shall  breathe  no  more  of  our  air. 
Begone  !  " 

154.  Up  they  all  flew  again,  and  circled  round  and  round  until  they 
came  to  the  sky  above  them,  and  they  found  it  smooth  and  hard  as 
before.    When  they  had  circled  round  for  some  time,  looking  in  vain 
for  an  entrance,  they  saw  a  red  head  stuck  out  of  the  sky,  and  they 
heard  a  voice  which  told  them  to  fly  to  the  west.     It  was  the  head 
of  Red  Wind  which  they  saw,  and  it  was  his  voice  that  spoke  to 
them.    The  passage  which  they  found  in  the  west  was  twisted  round 
like  the  tendril  of  a  vine;  it  had  thus  been  made  by  the  wind.  They 
flew  up  in  circles  through  it  and  came  out  in  the  fourth  world.    Four 
of  the  Grasshoppers  came  with  them  ;  one  was  white,  one  blue,  one 
yellow,  and  one  black.     We  have  grasshoppers  of  these  four  colors 
with  us  to  this  day.25 

155.  The  surface  of  the  fourth  world  was  mixed  black  and  white. 
The  colors  in  the  sky  were  the  same  as  in  the  lower  worlds,  but 
they  differed  in  their  duration.     In  the  first  world,  the  white,  the 
blue,  the  yellow,  and  the  black  all  lasted  about  an  equal  length  of 
time  every  day.     In  the  second  world  the  blue  and  the  black  lasted 
a  little  longer  than  the  other  two  colors.     In  the  third  world  they 
lasted  still  longer.     In  the  fourth  world  there  was  but  little  of  the 
white  and  yellow ;  the  blue  and  the  black  lasted  most  of  the  time. 
As  yet  there  was  neither  sun,  moon,  nor  star. 

156.  When  they  arrived  on  the  surface  of  the  fourth  world  they 
saw  no  living  thing ;  but  they  observed  four  great  snow-covered 
peaks  sticking  up  at  the  horizon,  —  one  at  the  east,  one  at  the  south, 
one  at  the  west,  and  one  at  the  north. 

157.  They  sent  two  couriers  to  the  east.     These  returned  at  the 
end  of  two  clays.    They  related  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  reach 
the  eastern  mountain,  and  that,  though  they  had  travelled  far,  they 
had  seen  no  track  or  trail  or  sign  of  life.     Two  couriers  were  then 
sent  to  the  south.     When  they  returned,  at  the  end  of  two  days, 
they  related  that  they  had  reached  a  low  range  of  mountains  this 


68  Navaho  Legends. 

side  of  the  great  peak ;  that  they  had  seen  no  living  creature,  but 
had  seen  two  different  kinds  of  tracks,  such  as  they  had  never  seen 
before,  and  they  described  such  as  the  deer  and  the  turkey  make 
now.  Two  couriers  were  next  sent  to  the  west.  In  two  days  these 
returned,  having  failed  to  reach  the  great  peak  in  the  west,  and  hav- 
ing seen  no  living  thing  and  no  sign  of  life.  At  last  two  couriers 
were  sent  to  the  north.  When  these  got  back  to  their  kindred  they 
said  they  had  found  a  race  of  strange  men,  who  cut  their  hair  square 
in  front,  who  lived  in  houses  in  the  ground  and  cultivated  fields. 
These  people,  who  were  engaged  in  gathering  their  harvest,  the 
couriers  said,  treated  them  very  kindly  and  gave  them  food  to  eat. 
It  was  now  evident  to  the  wanderers  that  the  fourth  world  was 
larger  than  any  of  the  worlds  below. 

158.  The  day  following  the  return  of  the  couriers  who  went  to  the 
north,  two  of  the  newly  discovered  race  —  Kisani  (Pueblos)  they  were 
called  —  entered  the  camp  of  the  exiles  and  guided  the  latter  to  a 
stream  of  water.     The  water  was  red,  and  the  Kisani  told  the  wan- 
derers they  must  not  walk  through  the  stream,  for  if  they  did  the 
water  would  injure  their  feet.     The  Kisani  showed  them  a  square 
raft  made  of  four  logs,  —  a  white  pine,  a  blue  spruce,  and  yellow  pine, 
and  a  black  spruce,  —  on  which  they  might  cross  ;  so  they  went  over 
the  stream  and  visited  the  homes  of  the  Kisani. 

1 59.  The  Kisani  gave  the  wanderers   corn  and  pumpkins  to  eat, 
and  the  latter  lived  for  some  time  on  the  food  given  to  them  daily 
by  their  new  friends.     They  held  a  council  among  themselves,  in 
which  they  resolved  to  mend  their  manners  for  the  future  and  do 
nothing  to  make  the  Kisani  angry.     The  land   of  the  Kisani  had 
neither  rain  nor  snow ;  the  crops  were  raised  by  irrigation. 

1 60.  Late  in  the  autumn  they  heard  in  the  east  the  distant  sound 
of  a  great  voice  calling.     They  listened  and  waited,  and  soon  heard 
the  voice  nearer  and  louder.     They  listened  still  and  heard  the  voice 
a  third  time,  nearer  and  louder  than  before.    Once  more  they  listened, 
and  soon  they  heard  the  voice  louder  still,  and  clear  like  the  voice  of 
one  near  at  hand.    A  moment  later  four  mysterious  beings  appeared 
to  them.26     These  were :  Bitsi's  Zakai,  or  White  Body,  a  being  like 
the  god  of  this  world  whom  the  Navahoes  call  //astreyal/i ;  Bitsi's 
Dvtli'z,    or   Blue   Body,    who   was   like   the   present    Navaho     god 
T'o'nenili,  or  Water  Sprinkler ;  Bitsi's   ZTtsoi,  or  Yellow  Body ;  and 
Bitsi's   Zizi'n,   or  Black  Body,   who  was  the  same  as  the  present 
Navaho  god  of  fire,  ffastsezmi. 

161.  These  beings,  without    speaking,  made    many  signs    to   the 
people,  as  if  instructing  them ;  but   the  latter  did   not  understand 
them.      When   the  gods   had  gone,  the  people  long  discussed  the 
mysterious  visit,  and  tried  to  make  out  what  the  gods  meant  by  the 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  69 

signs  they  had  made.  Thus  the  gods  visited  four  days  in  succession. 
On  the  fourth  day,  when  the  other  three  had  departed,  Black  Body 
remained  behind  and  spoke  to  the  people  in  their  own  language. 
He  said  :  "  You  do  not  seem  to  understand  the  signs  that  these 
gods  make  you,  so  I  must  tell  you  what  they  mean.  They  want  to 
make  more  people,  but  in  form  like  themselves.  You  have  bodies 
like  theirs ;  but  you  have,  the  teeth,  the  feet,  and  the  claws  of  beasts 
and  insects.  The  new  creatures  are  to  have  hands  and  feet  like 
ours.  But  you  are  uncleanly,  you  smell  badly.  Have  yourselves 
well  cleansed  when  we  return ;  we  will  come  back  in  twelve  days." 

162.  On  the  morning  of  the  twelfth  day  the  people  washed  them- 
selves well.     The  women  dried  themselves  with  yellow  corn-meal ; 
the  men  with  white    corn-meal.27      Soon  after  the  ablutions  were 
completed  they  heard  the  distant  call  of  the  approaching  gods.     It 
was  shouted,  as  before,  four  times,  —  nearer  and  louder  at  each  repe- 
tition, —  and,  after  the  fourth  call,  the  gods  appeared.     Blue  Body 
and  Black  Body  each  carried  a  sacred  buckskin.     White  Body  car- 
ried two  ears  of  corn,  one  yellow,  one  white,  each  covered  at  the 
end  completely  with  grains.28 

163.  The  gods  laid  one  buckskin  on  the  ground  with  the  head 
to  the  west ;  on  this  they  placed  the  two  ears  of  corn,  with  their 
tips  to  the  east,  and  over  the  corn  they  spread  the  other  buckskin 
with  its  head  to  the  east ;  under  the  white  ear  they  put  the  feather 
of   a  white  eagle,    under   the   yellow  ear  the  feather  of   a   yellow 
eagle.     Then  they  told  the  people  to  stand  at  a  distance  and  allow 
the  wind  to  enter.      The  white  wind  blew  from  the  east,  and  the 
yellow  wind   blew  from  the  west,  between  the  skins.      While  the 
wind  was  blowing,  eight  of   the   Mirage   People  came  and  walked 
around  the  objects  on  the  ground  four  times,  and  as  they  walked 
the  eagle   feathers,  whose  tips  protruded  from  between  the  buck- 
skins, were  seen  to  move.     When  the  Mirage  People  had  finished 
their  walk  the  upper  buckskin  was  lifted,  —  the  ears  of  corn  had 
disappeared  ;  a  man  and  a  woman  lay  there  in  their  stead. 

164.  The  white  ear  of  corn  had  been  changed  into  a  man,  the 
yellow  ear  into  a  woman.     It    was  the  wind  that  gave  them    life. 
It  is  the  wind  that  comes  out  of   our   mouths    now  that  gives  us 
life.     When  this  ceases  to  blow  we  die.     In  the  skin  at  the  tips 
of  our  fingers  we  see  the  trail  of  the  wind  ;  it  shows  us  where  the 
wind  blew  when  our  ancestors  were  created. 

165.  The  pair  thus  created  were  First  Man  and    First  Woman 
(Atse  //astiw  and  Atse  Estsan).     The  gods  directed  the  people  to 
build  an  inclosure  of  brushwood  for  the  pair.     When  the  in  closure 
was  finished,  First  Man  and  First  Woman  entered  it,  and  the  gods 
said  to  them  :  "  Live  together  now  as  husband  and  wife."     At  the 


70  Navaho  Legends. 

end  of  four  days  hermaphrodite 29  twins  were  born,  and  at  the  end 
of  four  days  more  a  boy  and  a  girl  were  born,  who  in  four  days  grew 
to  maturity  and  lived  with  one  another  as  husband  and  wife.  The 
primal  pair  had  in  all  five  pairs  of  twins,  the  first  of  which  only  was 
barren,  being  hermaphrodites. 

1 66.  In  four  days  after  the  last  pair  of  twins  was  born,  the  gods 
came  again  and  took  First  Man  and  First  Woman  away  to  the  east- 
ern mountain  where  the  gods  dwelt,  and  kept  them  there  for  four 
days.     When  they  returned  all  their  children  were  taken  to  the  east- 
ern mountain  and  kept  there  for  four  days.      Soon  after  they  all 
returned  it  was  observed  that  they  occasionally  wore  masks,  such  as 
//astreyal/i  and  //asUe/^an  wear  now,  and  that  when  they  wore 
these  masks  they  prayed  for  all  good  things,  —  for  abundant  rain 
and  abundant  crops.     It  is  thought,  too,  that   during  their  visit  to 
the  eastern  mountain  they  learned  the  awful  secrets  of  witchcraft, 
for  the  antihi  (witches,  wizards)  always  keep  such  masks  with  them 
and  marry  those  too  nearly  related  to  them. 

167.  When  they  returned  from  the  eastern  mountain  the  brothers 
and  sisters  separated  ;  and,  keeping  the  fact  of  their  former  unlaw- 
ful marriages  secret,  the  brothers  married  women  of  the  Mirage 
People  and  the  sisters  married  men  of  the  Mirage  People.     They 
kept  secret,  too,  all  the  mysteries  they  had  learned  in  the  eastern 
mountain.     The  women  thus  married  bore  children  every  four  days, 
and  the  children  grew  to  maturity  in  four  days,  were  married,  and 
in  their  turn  had  children  every  four  days.    This  numerous  offspring 
married  among  the  Kisani,  and  among  those  who  had  come  from  the 
lower  world,  and  soon  there  was  a  multitude  of  people  in  the  land. 

168.  These  descendants  of  First  Man  and  First  Woman  made  a 
great  farm.     They  built  a  dam  and  dug  a  wide  irrigating  ditch.    But 
they  feared  the  Kisani  might  injure  their  dam  or  their  crops  ;  so 
they  put  one  of  the  hermaphrodites  to  watch  the  dam  and  the  other 
to   watch    the   lower   end    of  the    field.     The    hermaphrodite   who 
watched  at  the  dam  invented  pottery.     He  made  first  a  plate,  a 
bowl,  and  a  dipper,  which  were  greatly  admired  by  the  people.    The 
hermaphrodite  who  lived  at  the  lower  end  of  the  farm  invented  the 
wicker  water-bottle.30    Others  made,  from  thin  split  boards  of  cotton- 
wood,  implements  which  they  shoved  before  them  to  clear  the  weeds 
out  of  the  land.     They  made  also  hoes  from  shoulder-blades  of  deer 
and  axes  of  stone.     They  got  their  seeds  from  the  Kisani. 

169.  Once  they  killed  a  little  deer,  and  some  one  among  them 
thought  that  perhaps  they  might  make,  from  the  skin  of  the  head,  a 
mask,  by  means  of  which  they  could  approach  other  deer  and  kill 
them.     They  tried  to  make  such  a  mask  but  failed  ;  they  could  not 
make  it  fit.     They  debated  over  the  invention  and  considered  it  for 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  71 

four  days,  but  did  not  succeed.  On  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day 
they  heard  the  gods  shouting  in  the  distance.  As  on  a  previous 
occasion,  they  shouted  four  times,  and  after  the  fourth  call  they 
made  their  appearance.  They  brought  with  them  heads  of  deer  and 
of  antelope.  They  showed  the  people  how  the  masks  were  made 
and  fitted,  how  the  eye-holes  were  cut,  how  the  motions  of  the  deer 
were  to  be  imitated,  and  explained  to  them  all  the  other  mysteries 
of  the  deer-hunt.31  Next  day  hunters  went  out  and  several  deer 
were  killed ;  from  these  more  masks  were  made,  and  with  these 
masks  more  men  went  out  to  hunt  ;  after  that  time  the  camp  had 
abundance  of  meat.  The  people  dressed  the  deerskins  and  made 
garments  out  of  them. 

170.  The  people  from  the  third  world  had  been  in  the  fourth  world 
eight  years  when  the  following  incident  occurred :    One  day  they 
saw  the  sky  stooping  down  and  the  earth  rising  up  to  meet  it.     For 
a  moment  they  came  in  contact,  and  then  there  sprang  out  of  the 
earth,  at  the  point  of  contact,  the  Coyote  and  the  Badger.    We  think 
now  that  the  Coyote  and  the  Badger  are  children  of  the  sky.     The 
Coyote  rose  first,  and  for  this    reason   we   think  he    is    the   elder 
brother  of  the  Badger.     At  once  the  Coyote  came  over  to  the  camp 
and  skulked  round  among  the  people,  while  the  Badger  went  down 
into  the  hole  that  led  to  the  lower  world. 

171.  First  Man  told  the  people  the  names  of  the  four  mountains 
which  rose  in  the  distance.     They  were  named  the  same  as  the  four 
mountains  that  now  bound  the  Navaho  land.   There  was  Tsisnad^i'ni 
in  the  east,  Tsotsi/  in  the  south,  ZtokosliV  in  the  west,  and  Ztepe'ntsa 
in  the  north,  and  he  told  them  that  a  different  race  of  people  lived  in 
each  mountain. 

172.  First  Man  was  the  chief  of  all  these  people  in  the  fourth 
world,  except  the  Kisani.    He  was  a  great  hunter,  and  his  wife,  First 
Woman,  was  very  corpulent.     One  day  he  brought  home  from  the 
hunt  a  fine  fat  deer.     The  woman  boiled  some  of  it  and  they  had  a 
hearty  meal.     When  they  were  done  the  woman  wiped  her  greasy 
hands  on  her  dress,  and  made  a  remark  which  greatly  enraged  her 
husband ;  they  had  a  quarrel  about  this,  which  First  Man  ended  by 
jumping  across  the  fire  and  remaining  by  himself  in  silence  for  the 
rest  of  the  night.32 

173.  Next  morning  First  Man  went  out  early  and  called  aloud  to 
the  people  :  "  Come  hither,  all  ye  men,"  he  said  ;  "  I  wish  to  speak 
to  you,  but  let  all  the  women  stay  behind ;  I  do  not  wish  to  see 
them."    Soon  all  the  males  gathered,  and  he  told  them  what  his  wife 
had  said  the  night  before.     "  They  believe,"  he  said,  "  that  they  can 
live  without  us.     Let  us  see  if  they  can  hunt  game  and  till  the  fields 
without  our  help.     Let  us  see  what  sort  of  a  living  they  can  make 


72  Navaho  Legends. 

by  themselves.  Let  us  leave  them  and  persuade  the  Kisani  to  come 
with  us.  We  will  cross  the  stream,  and  when  we  are  gone  over  we 
will  keep  the  raft  on  the  other  side."  He  sent  for  the  hermaphro- 
dites. They  came,  covered  with  meal,  for  they  had  been  grinding 
corn.  "  What  have  you  that  you  have  made  yourselves  ?  "  he  asked. 
"  We  have  each  two  mealing-stones,  and  we  have  cups  and  bowls  and 
baskets  and  many  other  things,"  they  answered.  "Then  take  these 
all  along  with  you,"  he  ordered,  "and  join  us  to  cross  the  stream." 
Then  all  the  men  and  the  hermaphrodites  assembled  at  the  river 
and  crossed  to  the  north  side  on  the  raft,  and  they  took  over  with 
them  their  stone  axes  and  farm  implements  and  everything  they 
had  made.  When  they  had  all  crossed  they  sent  the  raft,  down  to 
the  Kisani  for  them  to  cross.  The  latter  came  over,  —  six  gentes  of 
them,  —  but  they  took  their  women  with  them.  While  some  of  the 
young  men  were  crossing  the  stream  they  cried  at  parting  with  their 
wives ;  still  they  went  at  the  bidding  of  their  chief.  The  men  left 
the  women  everything  the  latter  had  helped  to  make  or  raise. 

174.  As  soon  as  they  had  crossed  the  river  some  of  the  men  went 
out  hunting,  for  the  young  boys  needed  food,  and  some  set  to  work 
to  chop  down  willows  and  build  huts.     They  had  themselves  all 
sheltered  in  four  days. 

175.  That  winter  the  women  had  abundance  of  food,  and  they 
feasted,  sang,  and  had  a  merry  time.     They  often  carne  down  to  the 
bank  of  the  river  and  called  across  to  the  men  and  taunted  and 
reviled  them.     Next  year  the  men  prepared  a  few  small  fields  and 
raised  a  little  corn  ;  but  they  did  not  have  much   corn  to  eat,  arid 
lived  a  good  deal  by  hunting.     The  women  planted  all  of  the  old 
farm,  but  they  did  not  work  it  very  well ;  so  in  the  winter  they  had  a 
small  crop,  and  they  did  not  sing  and  make  merry  as  in  the  previous 
winter.     In  the  second  spring  the  women  planted  less,  while  the 
men  planted  more,  cleared  more  land,  and  increased  the  size  of  their 
farm.     Each  year  the  fields  and  crops  of  the  men  increased,  while 
those  of  the  women  diminished  and  they  began  to  surfer  for  want  of 
food.     Some  went  out  and  gathered  the  seeds  of  wild  plants  to  eat. 
In  the  autumn  of  the  third  year  of  separation  many  women  jumped 
into  the  river  and  tried  to  swim  over ;  but  they  were  carried  under 
the  surface  of  the  water  and  were  never  seen  again.     In  the  fourth 
year  the  men  had  more  food  than  they  could  eat ;  corn  and  pump- 
kins lay  untouched  in  the  fields,  while  the  women  were  starving. 

176.  First  Man  at  length  began  to  think  what  the  effect  of  his 
course  might  be.     He  saw  that  if  he  continued  to  keep  the  men  and 
the  women  apart  the  race  might  die  out,  so  he  called  the  men  and 
spoke  his  thoughts  to  them.     Some  said,  "  Surely  our  race  will  per- 
ish," and  others  said,  "What  good  is  our  abundance  to  us?     We 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  73 

think  so  much  of  our  poor  women  starving  in  our  sight  that  we  can- 
not eat."  Then  he  sent  a  man  to  the  shore  to  call  across  the  stream 
to  find  if  First  Woman  were  still  there,  and  to  bid  her  come  down  to 
the  bank  if  she  were.  She  came  to  the  bank,  and  First  Man  called 
to  her  and  asked  if  she  still  thought  she  could  live  alone.  "  No," 
she  replied,  "we  cannot  live  without  our  husbands."  The  men  and 
the  women  were  then  told  to  assemble  at  the  shores  of  the  stream ; 
the  raft  was  sent  over  and  the  women  were  ferried  across.  They 
were  made  to  batke-ffreir  bodies  "afrd-rfTy"  them  with  meal.  They 
were  put  in  a  corral  and  kept  there  until  night,  when  they  were  let 
out  to  join  the  men  in  their  feasts.33 

177.  When  they  were  let  out  of  the  corral  it  was  found  that  three 
were  missing.     After  dark,  voices  were  heard  calling  from  the  other 
side  of  the  river;  they  were  the  voices  of  the  missing  ones,  —  a 
mother  and  her  two  daughters.     They  begged  to  be  ferried  over,  but 
the  men  told  them  it  was  too  dark,  that  they  must  wait  until  morn- 
ing.    Hearing  this,  they  jumped  into  the  stream  and  tried  to  swim 
over.     The  mother  succeeded  in  reaching  the  opposite  bank  and 
finding  her  husband.     The  daughters  were  seized  by  Tieholtsodi, 
the  water  monster,  and  dragged  down  under  the  water. 

178.  For  three  nights  and  three  days  the  people  heard  nothing 
about  the  young  women  and  supposed  them  lost  forever.     On  the 
morning  of  the  fourth  day  the  call  of  the  gods  was  heard,  —  four 
times  as  usual,  —  and  after  the  fourth  call  White  Body  made  his 
appearance,  holding  up  two  fingers  and  pointing  to  the  river.     The 
people  supposed  that  these  signs  had  reference  to  the  lost  girls. 
Some  of  the  men  crossed  the  stream  on  the  raft  and  looked  for  the 
tracks    of   the   lost    ones  ;    they  traced  the  tracks  to  the  edge  of 
the  water,  but  no  farther.     White  Body  went  away,  but  soon  re- 
turned, accompanied   by  Blue  Body.     White  Body  carried  a  large 
bowl    of   white    shell,   and  Blue  Body  a  large   bowl  of  blue  shell. 
They  asked  for  a  man  and  a  woman  to  accompany  them,  and  they 
went  down  to  the  river.     They  put  both  the  bowls  on  the  surface  of 
the  water  and  caused  them  to  spin  around.     Beneath  the  spinning 
bowls  the  water  opened,  for  it  was  hollow,  and  gave  entrance  to  a 
large  house  of  four  rooms.     The  room  in  the  east  was  made  of  the 
dark  waters,  the  room  in  the  south  of  the  blue  waters,  the  room  in 
the  west  of  the  yellow  waters,  and  the  room  in  the  north  of  waters 
of  all  colors.36 

179.  The  man  and   the  woman  descended  and  Coyote  followed 
them.     They  went  first  into  the  east  room*,  but  there  they  found 
nothing ;  then  they  went  into  the  south  room,  but  there  they  found 
nothing  ;  next  they  went  into  the  west  room,  where  again  they  found 
nothing ;  at  last  they  went  into  the  north  room,  and  there   they 


74  Navaho  Legends. 

beheld  the  water  monster  Tieholtsodi,  with  the  two  girls  he  had 
stolen  and  two  children  of  his  own.  The  man  and  the  woman 
demanded  the  children,  and  as  he  said  nothing  in  reply  they  took 
them  and  walked  away.  But  as  they  went  out  Coyote,  unperceived 
by  all,  took  the  two  children  of  Tieholtsodi  and  carried  them  off 
under  his  robe.  Coyote  always  wore  his  robe  folded  close  around 
him  and  always  slept  with  it  thus  folded,  so  no  one  was  surprised  to 
see  that  he  still  wore  his  robe  in  this  way  when  he  came  up  from 
the  waters,  and  no  one  suspected  that  he  had  stolen  the  children  of 
Tieholtsodi. 

1 80.  Next  day  the  people  were  surprised  to  see  deer,  turkey,  and 
antelope  running  past  from  east  to  west,  and  to  see  animals  of  six 
different  kinds  (two  kinds  of  Hawks,  two  kinds  of  Squirrels,  the 
Hummingbird,  and  the  Bat)  come  into  their  camp  as  if  for  refuge. 
The  game  animals  ran  past  in  increasing  numbers  during  the  three 
days  following.     On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day,  when  the  white 
light  rose,  the  people  observed  in  the  east  a  strange  white  gleam 
along  the  horizon,  and  they  sent  out  the  Locust  couriers  to  see  what 
caused  this  unusual  appearance.     The  Locusts  returned  before  sun- 
set, and  told  the  people  that  a  vast  flood  of  waters  was  fast  ap- 
proaching from  the  east.     On  hearing  this  the  people  all  assembled 
together,  the  Kisani  with  the  others,  in  a  great  multitude,  and  they 
wailed  and  wept  over  the  approaching  catastrophe.     They  wept  and 
moaned  all  night  and  could  not  sleep. 

1 8 1.  When  the  white  light  arose  in  the  east,  next  morning,  the 
waters  were  seen  high  as  mountains  encircling  the  whole  horizon, 
except  in  the  west,  and  rolling  on  rapidly.     The  people  packed  up 
all  their  goods  as  fast  as  they  could,  and  ran  up  on  a  high  hill  near 
by,  for  temporary  safety.     Here  they  held  a  council.     Some  one 
suggested  that  perhaps  the  two  Squirrels  (//azaitso  and  //azaistozi) 
might  help  them.     "  We  will  try  what  we  can  do,"  said  the  Squir- 
rels.    One  planted  a  pinon  seed,  the  other  a  juniper  seed,  and  they 
grew  so  very  fast  that  the  people  hoped  that  they  would  soon  grow 
so  tall  that  the  flood  could  not  reach  their  tops,  and  that  all  might 
find  shelter  there.     But  after  the  trees  grew  a  little  way  they  began 
to  branch  out  and  grew  no  higher.     Then  the  frightened  people 
called  on  the  Weasels  (Glo'dst/kai  and  Glo'dsi/fei'ni).     One  of  these 
planted  a  spruce  seed  and  one  a  pine  seed.     The  trees  sprouted  at 
once  and  grew  fast,  and  again  the  people  began  to  hope ;  but  soon 
the  trees  commenced  to  branch,  and  they  dwindled  to  slender  points 
at  the  top  and  ceased  to* grow  higher.     Now  they  were  in  the  depths 
of  despair,  for  the  waters  were  coming  nearer  every  moment,  when 
they  saw  two  men  approaching  the  hill  on  which  they  were  gathered. 

182.  One  of  the  approaching  men  was  old  and  grayhaired ;  the 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  75 

other,  who  was  young,  walked  in  advance.  They  ascended  the  hill 
and  passed  through  the  crowd,  speaking  to  no  one.  The  young  man 
sat  down  on  the  summit,  the  old  man  sat  down  behind  him,  and  the 
Locust  sat  down  behind  the  old  man,  —  all  facing  the  east.  The 
elder  took  out  seven  bags  from  under  his  robe  and  opened  them. 
Each  contained  a  small  quantity  of  earth.  He  told  the  people  that 
in  these  bags  he  had  earth  from  the  seven  sacred  mountains.  There 
were  in  the  fourth  world  seven  sacred  mountains,  named  and  placed 
like  the  sacred  mountains  of  the  present  Navaho  land.  "  Ah  !  Per- 
haps our  father  can  do  something  for  us,"  said  the  people.  "  I  can- 
not, but  my  son  may  be  able  to  help  you,"  said  the  old  man.  Then 
they  bade  the  son  to  help  them,  and  he  said  he  would  if  they  all 
moved  away  from  where  he  stood,  faced  to  the  west,  and  looked  not 
around  until  he  called  them  ;  for  no  one  should  see  him  at  his  work. 
They  did  as  he  desired,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  called  them  to 
come  to  him.  When  they  came,  they  saw  that  he  had  spread  the 
sacred  earth  on  the  ground  and  planted  in  it  thirty-two  reeds,  each 
of  which  had  thirty-two  joints.  As  they  gazed  they  beheld  the  roots 
of  the  reeds  striking  out  into  the  soil  and  growing  rapidly  downward. 
A  moment  later  all  the  reeds  joined  together  and  became  one  reed 
of  great  size,  with  a  hole  in  its  eastern  side.  He  bade  them  enter 
the  hollow  of  the  reed  through  this  hole.  When  they  were  all  safely 
inside,  the  opening  closed,  and  none  too  soon,  for  scarcely  had  it 
closed  when  they  heard  the  loud  noise  of  the  surging  waters  outside, 
saying,  "Yi#,  yiw,  yi;z."37 

183.  The  waters  rose  fast,  but  the  reed  grew  faster,  and  soon  it 
grew  so  high  that  it  began  to  sway,  and  the  people  inside  were  in 
great  fear  lest,  with  their  weight,  it  might  break  and  topple  over 
into  the  water.     White  Body,  Blue  Body,  and  Black   Body  were 
along.     Black  Body  blew  a  great  breath  out  through  a  hole  in  the 
top  of  the  reed ;  a  heavy  dark  cloud  formed  around  the  reed  and 
kept  it  steady.     But  the  reed  grew  higher    and   higher;    again  it 
began  to  sway,  and   again   the   people  within  were  in  great  fear, 
whereat  he  blew  and  made  another  cloud  to  steady  the  reed.     By 
sunset  it  had  grown  up  close  to  the  sky,  but  it  swayed  and  waved 
so  much  that  they  could  not  secure  it  to  the  sky  until  Black  Body, 
who  was  uppermost,  took  the  plume  out  of  his  head-band  and  stuck 
it  out  through  the  top  of  the  cane  against  the  sky,  and  this  is  why 
the  reed  (Phragmites  communis)  always  carries  a  plume  on  its  head 
now.38 

184.  Seeing  no  hole  in  the  sky,  they  sent  up  the  Great   Hawk, 
Gim'tso,  to  see  what  he  could  do.     He  flew  up  and  began  to  scratch 
in  the  sky  with  his  claws,  and  he  scratched  and  scratched  till  he 
was  lost  to  sight.     After  a  while  he  came  back,  and  said  that  he 


76  Navaho  Legends. 

scratched  to  where  he  could  see  light,  but  that  he  did  not  get 
through  the  sky.  Next  they  sent  up  a  Locust.39  He  was  gone  a 
long  time,  and  when  he  came  back  he  had  this  story  to  tell :  He 
had  gotten  through  to  the  upper  world,  and  came  out  on  a  little 
island  in  the  centre  of  a  lake.  When  he  got  out  he  saw  approach- 
ing him  from  the  east  a  black  Grebe,  and  from  the  west  a  yellow 
Grebe.40  One  of  them  said  to  him  :  "Who  are  you  and  whence  come 
you  ? "  But  he  made  no  reply.  The  other  then  said :  "  We  own 
half  of  this  world,  —  I  in  the  east,  my  brother  in  the  west.  We 
give  you  a  challenge.  If  you  can  do  as  we  do,  we  shall  give  you 
one  half  of  the  world  ;  if  you  cannot,  you  must  die."  Each  had  an 
arrow  made  of  the  black  wind.  He  passed  the  arrow  from  side 
to  side  through  his  heart  and  flung  it  down  to  WonistnVi,  the 
Locust.41  The  latter  picked  up  one  of  the  arrows,  ran  it  from  side 
to  side  through  his  heart,  as  he  had  seen  the  Grebes  do,  and  threw 
it  down.42  The  Grebes  swam  away,  one  to  the  east  and  one  to  the 
west,  and  troubled  him  no  more.  When  they  had  gone,  two  more 
Grebes  appeared,  a  blue  one  from  the  south  and  a  shining  one  from 
the  north.  They  spoke  to  him  as  the  other  Grebes  had  spoken,  and 
gave  him  the  same  challenge.  Again  he  passed  the  arrow  through 
his  heart  and  the  Grebes  departed,  leaving  the  land  to  the  locust. 
To  this  day  we  see  in  every  locust's  sides  the  holes  made  by  the 
arrows.  But  the  hole  the  Locust  made  in  ascending  was  too  small 
for  many  of  the  people,  so  they  sent  Badger  up  to  make  it  larger. 
When  Badger  came  back  his  legs  were  stained  black  with  the  mud, 
and  the  legs  of  all  badgers  have  been  black  ever  since.  Then  First 
Man  and  First  Woman  led  the  way  and  all  the  others  followed 
them,  and  they  climbed  up  through  the  hole  to  the  surface  of  this 
—  the  fifth  —  world. 

II.    EARLY   EVENTS    IN    THE   FIFTH   WORLD. 

185.  The  lake43  was  bounded  by  high  cliffs,  from  the  top  of  which 
stretched  a  great  plain.  There  are  mountains  around  it  now,  but 
these  have  been  created  since  the  time  of  the  emergence.  Finding 
no  way  to  get  out  of  the  lake,  they  called  on  Blue  Body  to  help 
them.  He  had  brought  with  him  from  the  lower  world  four  stones  ; 
he  threw  one  of  these  towards  each  of  the  four  cardinal  points 
against  the  cliffs,  breaking  holes,  through  which  the  waters  flowed 
away  in  four  different  directions.44  The  lake  did  not  altogether 
drain  out  by  this  means  ;  but  the  bottom  became  bare  in  one  place, 
connecting  the  island  with  the  mainland.  But  the  mud  was  so  deep 
in  this  place  that  they  still  hesitated  to  cross,  and  they  prayed  to 
Ni'ltri  ZUlkohi,  Smooth  Wind,  to  come  to  their  aid.45  Nl'ltei  Z>ilkohi 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  77 

blew  a  strong  wind,  and  in  one  day  dried  up  the  mud  so  that  the  peo- 
ple could  easily  walk  over.  While  they  were  waiting  for  the  ground 
to  dry,  the  Kisani  camped  on  the  east  side  of  the  island  and  built  a 
stone  wall  (which  stands  to  this  day),  to  lean  against  and  to  shelter 
them  from  the  wind.46  The  other  people  set  up  a  shelter  of  brush- 
wood. The  women  erected  four  poles,  on  which  they  stretched  a 
deerskin,  and  under  the  shelter  of  this  they  played  the  game  of 
three-sticks,47  tsin^i',  one  of  the  four  games  which  they  brought 
with  them  from  the  lower  world. 

1 86.  When    they   reached   the    mainland    they  sought  to  divine 
their  fate.    To  do  this  some  one  threw  a  hide-scraper  into  the  water, 
saying:  "If  it  sinks  we  perish,  if  it  floats  we  live."     It  floated,  and 
all  rejoiced.      But  Coyote  said :  "  Let  me  divine  your  fate."      He 
picked  up  a  stone,  and  saying,  "  If  it  sinks  we  perish  ;  if  it  floats 
we  live,"  he  threw  it  into  the  water.     It  sank,  of  course,  and  all 
were  angry  with  him  and  reviled  him ;  but  he  answered  them  say- 
ing :  "  If  we  all  live,  and  continue  to  increase  as  we  have  done,  the 
earth  will  soon  be  too  small  to  hold  us,  and  there  will  be  no  room 
for  the  cornfields.     It  is  better  that  each  of  us  should  live  but  a 
time  on  this  earth  and  then  leave  and  make  room  for  our  children." 
They  saw  the  wisdom  of  his  words  and  were  silent.     The  day  they 
arrived  at  the  shore  they  had  two  visitors,  — :  Puma  and  Wolf.    "  We 
have  heard,"  said  these,  "  that  some  new  people  had  come  up  out  of 
the  ground,  and  we  have  come  over  to  see  them."     Puma  took  a 
bride  from  among  the  new  people. 

187.  On  the  fourth  day  of  the  emergence  some  one  went  to  look 
at  the  hole  through  which  they  had  come  out,  and  he  noticed  water 
welling  up  there  ;  already  it  was  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the 
hole,'  and  every  moment  it  rose  higher.     In  haste  he  ran  back  to  his 
people  and  told  them  what  he  had  seen.     A  council  was  called  at 
once  to  consider  the  new  danger  that  threatened  them.     First  Man, 
who  rose  to  speak,  said,  pointing  to  Coyote  :  "  Yonder  is  a  rascal,  and 
there  is  something  wrong  about  him.     He  never  takes  off  his  robe, 
even  when  he  lies  down.     I  have  watched  him  for  a  long  time,  and 
have  suspected  that  he  carries  some  stolen  property  under  his  robe. 
Let  us  search  him."  48     They  tore  the  robe  from  Coyote's  shoulders, 
and  two  strange  little  objects  dropped  out  that  looked  something 
like  buffalo  calves,  but  were  spotted  all  over  in  various  colors ;  they 
were  the  young  of  Tieholtsodi.    At  once  the  people  threw  them  into 
the  hole  through  which  the  waters  were  pouring ;  in  an  instant  the 
waters   subsided,  and  rushed  away  with  a  deafening  noise  to  the 
lower  world.49 

1 88.  On  the  fifth  night  one  of  the  twin  hermaphrodites  ceased  to 
breathe.     They  left  her  alone  all  that  night,  and,  when   morning 


78  Navaho  Legends. 

came,  Coyote  proposed  to  lay  her  at  rest  among  the  rocks.  This 
they  did  ;  but  they  all  wondered  what  had  become  of  her  breath. 
They  went  in  various  directions  to  seek  for  its  trail,  but  could  find 
it  nowhere.  While  they  were  hunting,  two  men  went  near  the 
hole  through  which  they  had  come  from  the  lower  world.  It  oc- 
curred to  one  of  them  to  look  down  into  the  hole.  He  did  so,  and 
he  saw  the  dead  one  seated  by  the  side  of  the  river,  in  the  fourth 
world,  combing  her  hair.  He  called  to  his  companion  and  the  lat- 
ter came  and  looked  down,  too.  They  returned  to  their  people  and 
related  what  they  had  seen  ;  but  in  four  days  both  these  men  died, 
and  ever  since  the  Navahoes  have  feared  to  look  upon  the  dead,  or 
to  behold  a  ghost,  lest  they  die  themselves.50 

189.  After  this  it  was  told  around  that  the  Kisani,  who  were  in 
camp  at  a  little  distance  from  the  others,  had  brought  with  them 
from  the  lower  world  an  ear  of  corn  for  seed.     Some  of  the  unruly 
ones  proposed  to  go  to  the  camp  of  the  Kisani  and  take  the  corn  away 
from  them ;  but  others,  of  better  counsel,  said  that  this  would  be 
wrong,  that  the  Kisani  had  had  as  much  trouble  as  the  rest,  and  if 
they  had  more  foresight  they  had  a  right  to  profit  by  it.     In  spite  of 
these  words,  some  of  the  young  men  went  and  demanded  the  corn  of 
the  Kisani.     The  latter  said,  after  some  angry  talk  on  both  sides, 
"  We  will  break  the  ear  in  two  and  give  you  whichever  half  you 
choose."     The  young  men  agreed  to  this  bargain,  and  the  woman 
who  owned  the  ear  broke  it  in  the  middle  and  laid  the  pieces  down 
for  the  others  to  choose.     The  young  men  looked  at  the  pieces,  and 
were  considering  which  they  would  take,  when  Coyote,  getting  impa- 
tient, picked  up  the  tip  end  of  the  ear  and  made  off  with  it.     The 
Kisani  kept  the  butt,  and  this  is  the  reason  the  Pueblo  Indians  have 
to-day  better  crops  of  corn  than  the  Navahoes.     But  the  Pueblos 
had  become  alarmed  at  the  threats  and  angry  language  of  their 
neighbors  and  moved  away  from  them,  and  this  is  why  the  Navahoes 
and  Pueblos  now  live  apart  from  one  another. 

190.  After  the  Kisani  moved  away,  First  Man  and  First  Woman, 
Black  Body  and  Blue  Body,  set  out  to  build  the  seven  sacred  moun- 
tains of  the  present  Navaho  land.     They  made  them  all  of  earth 
which  they  had  brought  from  similar  mountains  in  the  fourth  world. 
The   mountains   they  made  were   Tsisnad^T'ni  in  the  east,  TsotsT/ 
(Taylor,  San  Mateo)  in  the  south,  Z>okosliV  (San  Francisco)  in  the 
west,  /?epe'ntsa  (San  Juan)  in  the  north,  with  DsT/naoH/,  Tjolihi, 
and  Akk/anas/ani  (Hosta  Butte)  in  the  middle  of  the  land.61 

191.  Through  Tsisnad^fni,52  in  the  east,  they  ran  a  bolt  of  light- 
ning to  fasten  it  to  the  earth.     They  decorated  it  with  white  shells, 
white  lightning,  white  corn,  dark  clouds,  and   he-rain.     They  set  a 
big  dish  or  bowl  of  shell  on  its  summit,  and  in  it  they  put  two  eggs 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  79 

of  the  Pigeon  to  make  feathers  •  for  the  mountain.  The  eggs  they 
covered  with  a  sacred  buckskin  to  make  them  hatch  (there  are 
many  wild  pigeons  in  this  mountain  now).  All  these  things  they 
covered  with  a  sheet  of  daylight,  and  they  put  the  Rock  Crystal 
Boy  and  the  Rock  Crystal  Girl 53  into  the  mountain  to  dwell. 

192.  Tsotsi/,54  the  mountain  of   the  south,  they  fastened  to  the 
earth  with  a  great  stone  knife,  thrust  through  from  top  to  bottom. 
They  adorned  it  with  turquoise,  with  dark  mist,  she-rain,  and  all  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  wild  animals.     On  its  summit  they  placed  a  dish  of 
turquoise ;  in  this  they  put  two  eggs  of  the  Bluebird,  which  they 
covered  with  sacred  buckskin  (there  are  many  bluebirds  in  Tsotsi/ 
now),  and  over  all  they  spread  a  covering  of  blue  sky.    The  Boy  who 
Carries   One  Turquoise  and  the   Girl  who   Carries   One  Grain  of 
Corn  M  were  put  into  the  mountain  to  dwell. 

193.  ZtokoshW,56  the  mountain  of  the  west,  they  fastened  to  the 
earth  with  a  sunbeam.     They  adorned  it  with  haliotis   shell,  with 
black  clouds,  he-rain,  yellow  corn,   and  all  sorts  of  wild  animals. 
They  placed  a  dish  of  haliotis  shell  on  the  top,  and  laid  in  this  two 
eggs  of  the  Yellow  Warbler,  covering  them  with  sacred  buckskins. 
There  are  many  yellow  warblers  now  in  ZtokoshV.     Over  all  they 
spread  a  yellow  cloud,  and  they  sent  White  Corn  Boy  and  Yellow 
Corn  Girl  57  to  dwell  there. 

194.  Ztepe'ntsa,  the  mountain  in  the  north,  they  fastened  with  a 
rainbow.     They  adorned  it  with  black  beads  (passim),  with  the  dark 
mist,  with  different  kinds  of  plants,  and  many  kinds  of  wild  animals. 
On  its  top  they  put  a  dish  of  pas^mi ;  in  this  they  placed  two  eggs 
of  the  Blackbird,  over  which  they  laid  a  sacred  buckskin.     Over  all 
they  spread  a  covering  of  darkness.     Lastly  they  put  the  Pollen  Boy 
and  Grasshopper  Girl 59  in  the  mountain,  to  dwell  there. 

195.  Dsi/nao/T/,60  was  fastened  with  a  sunbeam.     They  decorated 
it  with  goods  of  all  kinds,  with  the  dark  cloud,  and  the  male  rain. 
They  put  nothing  on  top  of  it ;  they  left  its  summit  free,  in  order 
that  warriors  might  fight  there  ;  but  they  put  Boy  Who  Produces 
Goods  and  Girl  Who  Produces  Goods61  there  to  live. 

196.  The  mountain  of  T^olihi62  they  fastened  to  the  earth  with 
m'ltsatlo/  (the  streak  or  cord  of  rain).     They  decorated  it  with  pol- 
len, the  dark  mist,  and  the  female  rain.     They  placed  on  top  of  it  a 
live  bird  named  Tms-ga/i,63  —  such  birds  abound  there  now,  —  and 
they  put  in  the  mountain  to  dwell  Boy  Who  Produces  Jewels  and 
Girl  Who  Produces  Jewels.64  • 

197.  The  mountain  of  Aki^/anas^ani 65  they  fastened  to  the  earth 
with  a  sacred^  stone  called  tse'//a^a/^onige,  or  mirage-stone.      They 
decorated  it  with  black  clouds,  the  he-rain,  and  all  sorts  of  plants. 
They  placed  a  live  Grasshopper  on  its  summit,  and  they  put  the 
Mirage-stone  Boy  and  the  Carnelian  Girl  there  to  dwell.66 


8o  Navaho  Legends. 

198.  They  still  had  the  three  lights  and  the  darkness,  as  in  the 
lower  worlds.     But  First  Man  and  First  Woman  thought  they  might 
form   some  lights  which  would   make  the  world  brighter.     After 
much  study  and  debate  they  planned  to  make  the  sun  and  moon. 
For. the  sun  they  made  a  round  flat  object,  like  a  dish,  out  of  a  clear 
stone  called  tse'tsagi.     They  set  turquoises  around  the  edge,  and 
outside  of  these  they  put  rays  of  red  rain,  lightning,  and  snakes  of 
many  kinds.     At  first  they  thought  of  putting  four  points  on  it,  as 
they  afterwards  did  on  the  stars,  but  they  changed  their  minds  and 
made  it  round.     They  made  the  moon  of  tse'tson  (star-rock,  a  kind 
of  crystal)  ;  they  bordered  it  with  white  shells  and  they  put  on  its 
face  kadilki's  (sheet  lightning),  and  AS'/anasUi  (all  kinds  of  water).67 

199.  Then  they  counseled  as  to  what  they  should  do  with  the  sun  ; 
where  they  should  make  it  rise  first.     The  Wind  of  the  East  begged 
that  it  might^be  brought  to  his  land,  so  they  dragged  it  off  to  the 
edge  of  the  world  where  he  dwelt ;  there  they  gave  it  to  the  man 
who  planted  the  great  cane  in  the  lower  world,  and  appointed  him  to 
carry  it.     To  an  old  gray-haired  man,  who  had  joined  them  in  the 
lower  world,  the  moon  was  given  to  carry.      These  men  had  no 
names  before,  but  now  the  former  received  the  name  of  Trohanoai, 
or  T^hanoai,  and  the  latter  'the  name  of  Klehanoai.     When  they 
were  about  to  depart,  in    order  to  begin  their  labors,  the   people 
were    sorry,  for   they  were    beloved    by  all.      But   First  Man  said 
to  the  sorrowing  peopk :  "  Mourn  not  for  them,  for  you  will  see 
them  in  the  heavens,  and  all  that  die  will  be  theirs  in  return  for 
their  labors.68     (See  notes  69  and  70  for  additions  to  the  legend.) 

200.  Then  the  people  (/?me',  Navahoes)  began  to  travel.     They 
journeyed  towards  the  east,  and  after  one  day's  march  they  reached 
Ni/2a//okai  (White  Spot  on  the  Earth)  and  camped  for  the  night. 
Here  a  woman   brought   forth,    but    her  offspring  was   not  like  a 
child  ;  it  was  round,  misshapen,  and  had  no  head.    The  people  coun- 
selled, and  determined   that  it  should  .be  thrown  into  a  gully,     So 
they  threw  it    away ;    but  it  lived   and   grew  up  and    became   the 
monster  Teelge/,131  who  afterwards  destroyed  so  many  of  the  people. 

201.  Next  day  they  wandered  farther  to  the  east,  and  camped  at 
night  at  TseVaiska  (Rock  Bending  Back).     Here  was  born  another 
misshapen  creature,  which  had  something  like  feathers  on  both  its 
shoulders.     It  looked  like  nothing  that  was  ever    seen    before,  so 
the  people  concluded  to  throw  this  away  also.     They  took  it  to  an 
alkali  bed  close  by  and  cast  it  away  there.     But  it  lived  and  grew 
and  became  the  terrible  Tse'na'hale,135  of  whom  I  shall  have  much 
to  tell  later. 

202.  The  next  night,  travelling  still  to  the  east,  they  camped  at 
Tse'bina^otyel,  a  broad  high  cliff  like  a  wall,  and   here  a  woman 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  81 

bore  another  strange  creature.  It  had  no  head,  but  had  a  long 
pointed  end  where  the  head  ought  to  be.  This  object  was  depos- 
ited in  the  cliff,  in  a  hole  which  was  afterwards  sealed  up  with  a 
stone.  They  left  it  there  to  die,  but  it  grew  up  and  became  the 
destroyer  TseVa/zotnl/a'/i,142  of  whom  we  shall  tell  hereafter.  Be- 
cause he  was  closed  into  the  rock,  his  hair  grew  into  it  and  he 
could  not  fall. 

203.  The  next  night,  when  they  stopped  at  Tse'a/*aLsi'ni  (Rock 
with  Black  Hole),  twins  were  born.     They  were  both  roundish  with 
one   end   tapering  to  a  point.     There  were  no  signs    of   limbs  or 
head,  but  there  were  depressions  which  had  somewhat  the  appear- 
ance of  eyes.     The  people  laid  them  on  the  ground,  and  next  day, 
when  they  moved  camp,  abandoned  them.     Tse'a/^aLs'i'ni  is  shaped 
like  a  Navaho  hut,  with  a  door  in  the  east.     It  is  supposed  that, 
when    they  were   abandoned  to  die,  the  twin    monsters  went   into 
this    natural  hut  to  dwell.     They  grew  up,  however,  and    became 
the  Bmaye  A/^ani,  who  slew  with  their  eyes,  and  of  whom  we  shall 
have  more  to  tell. 

204.  All  these  monsters  were  the  fruit  of  the  transgressions  of 
the  women  in  the  fourth  world,  when  they  were    separated   from 
the  men.      Other  monsters  were  born  on  the  march,  and  others, 
again,  sprang  from  the  blood  which  had  been  shed  during  the  birth 
of  the  first  monsters,71  and  all  these  grew  up  to  become  enemies 
and  destroyers  of  the  people. 

205.  When  they  left  Tse'a/^aLd'ni  they  turned  toward  the  west, 
and  journeyed  until  they  came  to  a  place  called  Tb'mtsosoko  (Water 
in  a  Narrow  Gully),  and  here  they  remained  for  thirteen  years,  mak- 
ing farms  and  planting  corn,  beans,  and  pumpkins  every  spring. 

206.  In    those  days    the   four-footed   beasts,  the   birds,  and   the 
snakes  were  people  also,  like  ourselves,  and  built  houses  and  lived 
near  our  people  close  to  Ztepe'ntsa.     They  increased  and  became 
the   cliff-dwellers.     It   must    have   been    the   flying   creatures  who 
built  the  dwellings  high  on  the  cliffs,  for  if   they  had  not  wings 
how  could  'they  reach  their  houses  ? 

207.  From    Tb'mtsosoko    they   moved   to  TseVakaiia  (Standing 
White    Rock),  and   here  they  sojourned   again  for  thirteen  years. 
From  the  latter  place  they  moved  to  Tse'pa/zalkai  (White  on  Face  of 
Cliff),  and  here,  once  more,  they  remained  for  a  period  of  thirteen 
years.     During  this  time  the  monsters  began  to  devour  the  people. 

208.  From    Tse'pa/^alkai    they    moved   to    the    neighborhood    of 
Kintyel72  (Broad  House),  in   the  Chaco  Canyon,  where  the  ruins 
of  the  great  pueblo  still  stand.     When  the  wanderers  arrived  the 
pueblo  was  in  process  of  building,  but  was  not  finished.     The  way 
it  came  to  be  built  you  shall  now  hear :  — 


82  Navako  Legends. 

209.  Some  time  before,  there  had  descended  among  the  Pueblos, 
from    the   heavens,   a   divine   gambler,    or   gambling  -  god,    named 
No/^oilpi,  or  He  Who  Wins  Men  (at  play)  ;  his  talisman  was  a  great 
piece  of  turquoise.     When  he  came  he  challenged  the  people  to  all 
sorts  of  games  and  contests,  and  in  all  of  these  he  was  successful. 
He  won  from  them,  first,  their  property,  then  their  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  finally  some  of  the  men  themselves.     Then  he  told  them 
he  would  give  them  part  of  their  property  back  in  payment  if  they 
would  build  a  great  house  ;  so  when  the  Navahoes  came,  the  Pueblos 
were  busy  building  in  order  that  they  might  release  their  enthralled 
relatives  and  their  property.     They  were  also  busy  making  a  race- 
track, and  preparing  for  all  kinds  of  games  of  chance  and  skill. 

210.  When  all  was  ready,  and  four  days'  notice  had  been  .given, 
twelve  men  came  from  the  neighboring  pueblo  of  Kl'nafo/lfe,  Blue 
House,  to  compete  with  the  great  gambler.     They  bet  their  own 
persons,  and  after  a  brief  contest  they  lost  themselves  to  No/zoilpi. 
Again  a  notice  of  four  days  was  given,  and  again  twelve  men  of 
Kfn^o/lfe  —  relatives  of  the  former  twelve  —  came  to  play,  and  these 
also  lost  themselves.     For  the  third  time  an  announcement,  four 
days  in  advance  of  a  game,  was  given  ;  this  time  some  women  were 
among  the  twelve  contestants,  and  they,  too,  lost  themselves.     All 
were  put  to  work  on  the  building  of  Kintyel  as  soon  as  they  forfeited 
their  liberty.     At  the  end  of  another  four  days  the  children  of  these 
men  and  women  came  to  try  to  win  back  their  parents,  but  they 
succeeded  only  in  adding  themselves  to  the  number  of  the  gambler's 
slaves.     On  a  fifth  trial,   after  four  days'  warning,   twelve    leading 
men  of  Blue  House  were  lost,  among  them  the  chief  of  the  pueblo. 
On  a  sixth    duly  announced  gambling   day,  twelve  more    men,  all 
important  persons,  staked  their  liberty  and  lost  it.     Up  to  this  time 
the  Navahoes  had  kept  count  of  the  winnings  of  No//oilpi,  but  after- 
wards people  from  other  pueblos  came  in  such  numbers  to  play  and 
lose  that  they  could  keep  count  no  longer.     In  addition  to  their  own 
persons  the  later  victims  brought  in  beads,  shells,  turquoise,  and  all 
sorts  of  valuables,  and  gambled  them  away.     With  the  labor  of  all 
these  slaves  it  was  not  long  until  the  great  Kintyel  was  finished. 

211.  But  all  this  time  the  Navahoes  had  been  merely  spectators, 
and  had  taken  no  part  in  the  games.     One  day  the  voice  of  the 
beneficent  god,  //astreyal/i,73  was  heard  faintly  in  the  distance  cry- 
ing his  usual  call,  "  Wu'hu'hu'hu."     His  voice  was  heard,  as  it  is 
always  heard,  four  times,  each  time  nearer  and  nearer,  and  imme- 
diately after  the  last  call,  which  was   loud  and   clear,  //astjeyal/i 
appeared  at  the  door  of  a  hut  where  dwelt  a  young  couple  who  had 
no  children,  and  with  them   he  communicated  by  means  of  signs. 
He  told  them  that  the  people  of  Kl'ndo/lfe  had  lost  at  game  with 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  83 

No/zoflpi  two  great  shells,  the  greatest  treasures  of  the  pueblo  ;  that 
the  Sun  had  coveted  these  shells  and  had  begged  them  from  the 
gambler  ;  that  the  latter  had  refused  the  request  of  the  Sun  and  the 
Sun  was  angry.  In  consequence  of  all  this,  as  //asUeyal/i  related, 
in  twelve  days  from  his  visit  certain  divine  personages  would  meet 
in  the  mountains,  in  a  place  which  he  designated,  to  hold  a  great 
ceremony.  He  invited  the  young  man  to  be  present  at  the  cere- 
mony and  disappeared. 

212.  The  Navaho  kept  count  of  the  passing  days ;  on  the  twelfth 
day  he  repaired  to  the  appointed  place,  and  there  he  found  a  great 
assemblage  of  the  gods.      There  were  //astyeyal/i,  //astse/zo^an 7* 
and  his   son,  Ni'ltsi75  (Wind),  T^a/ye/  (Darkness),   Tapani    (Bat), 
Listso  (Great  Snake),  Tsilka/i  (a  little  bird),  Nasi'zi  (Gopher),  and 
many  others.     Besides  these  there  were  present  a  number  of  pets 
or  domesticated  animals  belonging  to  the  gambler,  who  were  dis- 
satisfied with  their  lot,  were  anxious  to  be  free,  and  would  gladly 
obtain  their  share  of  the  spoils  in  case  their  master  was  ruined. 
Nl'ltji  (Wind)  had  spoken  to  them,  and  they  had  come  to  enter  into 
the  plot  against  No/zoilpi.     All  night  the  gods  danced  and  sang  and 
performed  their  mystic  rites  for  the  purpose  of  giving  to  the  son 
of  //astre/zo^-an  powers,  as  a  gambler,  equal  to  those  of  No^oilpi. 
When  the  morning  came  they  washed  the  young  neophyte  all  over, 
dried  him  with  meal,  dressed  him  in  clothes  exactly  like  those  the 
gambler  wore,  and  in  every  way  made  him  look  as  much  like  the 
gambler  as  possible,  and    then    they  counselled  as  to  what  other 
means  they  should  take  to  outwit  No//oilpi. 

213.  In  the  first  place,  they  desired  to  find  out  how  he  felt  about 
having  refused  to  his  father,  the  Sun,  the  two  great  shells.     "  I  will 
do  this,"  said  Ni'ltri  (Wind),  "for  I  can  penetrate  everywhere,  and 
no  one  can  see  me;"  but  the  others  said:  "No;  you  can  go  every- 
where, but  you  cannot  travel  without  making  a  noise  and  disturbing 
people.     Let  T^a/yeV  (Darkness)  go  on  this  errand,  for  he  also  goes 
wherever  he  wills,  yet  he  makes  no  noise."     So  T^a/ye/  went  to  the 
gambler's  house,  entered  his  room,  went  all  through  .his  body  while 
he  slept,  and  searched  well  his  mind,  and  he  came  back  saying, 
"  No/zoilpi  is  sorry  for  what  he  has  done."     Ni'ltri,  however,  did  not 
believe  this  ;  so,  although  his  services  had  been  before  refused,  he 
repaired  to  the    chamber  where  the  gambler   slept,  and  went  all 
through  his  body  and  searched  well  his  mind  ;  but  he,  too,  came 
back  saying  No/zoilpi  was  sorry  that  he  had  refused  to  give  the  great 
shells  to  his  father. 

214.  One  of  the  games  they  proposed  to  play  is  called  /aka-/had- 
sata,  or  the  thirteen  chips.    (It  is  played  with  thirteen  thin  flat  pieces 
of  wood,  which  are  colored  red  on  one  side  and  left  white  or  uncolored 


84  Navaho  Legends. 

on  the  other  side.  Success  depends  on  the  number  of  chips  which, 
being  thrown  upwards,  fall  with  their  white  sides  up.)  "  Leave  the 
game  to  me,"  said  the  Bat ;  "  I  have  made  thirteen  chips  that  are 
white  on  both  sides.  I  will  hide  myself  in  the  ceiling,  and  when 
our  champion  throws  up  his  chips  I  will  grasp  them  and  throw  down 
my  chips  instead." 

215.  Another  game  they  were  to  play  is  called  nanms'.76     (It  is 
played  with  two  long  sticks  or  poles,  of  peculiar  shape  and  construc- 
tion, one  marked  with  red  and  the  other  with  black,  and  a  single 
hoop.     A   long,  many-tailed    string,    called    the    "  turkey-claw,"    is 
secured  to  the  end  of  each  pole.)    "  Leave  nanscxs  to  me,"  said  Great 
Snake ;  "  I  will  hide  myself  in  the  hoop  and  make  it  fall  where  I 
please." 

216.  Another  game  was  one  called  tsi'nbetsi/,  or  push-on-the-wood. 
(In  this  the  contestants  push  against  a  tree  until  it  is  torn  from  its 
roots  and  falls.)     "  I  will  see  that  this  game  is  won,"  said  Nasi'zi, 
the  Gopher ;  "  I  will  gnaw  the  roots  of  the  tree,  so  that  he  who 
shoves  it  may  easily  make  it  fall." 

217.  In  the  game  tool,  or  ball,  the  object  was  to  hit  the  ball  so 
that  it  would  fall  beyond  a  certain  line.     "  I  will  win  this  game  for 
you,"   said  the  little  bird  Tsilka/i,  "for  I  will  hide  within  the  ball, 
and  fly  with  it  wherever  I  want  to  go.     Do  not  hit  the  ball  hard ; 
give  it  only  a  light  tap,  and  depend  on  me  to  carry  it." 

218.  The  pets  of  the  gambler  begged  the  Wind  to  blow  hard,  so 
that  they  might  have  an  excuse  to  give  their  master  for  not  keeping 
due  watch  when  he  was  in  danger,  and  in  the  morning  the  Wind 
blew  for  them  a  strong  gale.     At  dawn  the  whole  party  of  conspira- 
tors left  the  mountain,  and  came  down  to  the  brow  of  the  canyon  to 
watch  until  sunrise. 

219.  No//oflpi  had  two  wives,  who  were  the  prettiest  women  in 
the  whole  land.     Wherever  she  went,  each   carried  in  her  hand  a 
stick  with  something  tied  on  the  end  of  it,  as  a  sign  that  she  was  the 
wife  of  the  great  gambler. 

220.  It  was  their  custom  for  one  of  them  to  go  every  morning  at 
sunrise  to  a  neighboring  spring  to  get  water.     So  at  sunrise  the 
watchers  on  the  brow  of  the  cliff  saw  one  of  the  wives  coming  out 
of  the  gambler's  house  with  a  water-jar  on  her  head,  whereupon  the 
son  of  //astye/fo^an  descended  into  the  canyon  and  followed  her  to 
the  spring.     She  was  not  aware  of  his  presence  until  she  had  filled 
her  water-jar;  then  she  supposed  it  to  be  her  own  husband,  whom 
the  youth  was  dressed  and  adorned  to  represent,  and   she  allowed 
him  to  approach  her.     She  soon  discovered  her  error,  however,  but, 
deeming  it  prudent  to  say  nothing,  she  suffered  him  to  follow  her 
into  the  house.     As  he  entered,  he  observed  that  many  of  the  slaves 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  85 

had  already  assembled ;  perhaps  they  were  aware  that  some  trouble 
was  in  store  for  their  master.  The  latter  looked  up  with  an  angry 
face  ;  he  felt  jealous  when  he  saw  the  stranger  entering  immediately 
after  his  wife.  He  said  nothing  of  this,  however,  but  asked  at  once 
the  important  question,  "Have  you  come  to  gamble  with  me?" 
This  he  repeated  four  times,  and  each  time  the  young  //asUe/zo^-an 
said  "  No."  Thinking  the  stranger  feared  to  play  with  him,  No//oilpi 
went  on  challenging  him  recklessly.  "  I  '11  bet  myself  against  your- 
self ;"  "I'll  bet  my  feet  against  your  feet;"  "I'll  bet  my  legs 
against  your  legs  ; "  and  so  on  he  offered  to  bet  every  and  any  part 
of  his  body  against  the  same  part  of  his  adversary,  ending  by  men- 
tioning his  hair. 

221.  In  the  mean  time  the  party  of  divine  ones,  who  had  been 
watching  from  above,  came  down,  and  people  from  the  neighboring 
pueblos  came  in,  and  among  these  were  two  boys,  who  were  dressed 
in   costumes   similar  to  those  worn  by  the  wives  of  the  gambler. 
The  young  //ast^e/fo^-an  pointed  to  these  and  said,  "  I  will  bet  my 
wives  against  your  wives."     The  great  gambler  accepted  the  wager, 
and  the  four  persons,  two  women  and  two  mock-women,  were  placed 
sitting  in  a  row  near  the  wall.     First  they  played  the  game  of  thir- 
teen chips.    The  Bat  assisted,  as  he  had  promised  the  son  of  //astre- 
/zo^-an,  and  the  latter  soon  won  the  game,  and  with  it  the  wives  of 
No^oilpi. 

222.  This  was  the  only  game  played  inside  the  house ;  then  all 
went  out  of  doors,  and  games  of  various  kinds  were  played.     First 
they  tried  nan-ms1.     The  track  already  prepared  lay  east  and  west, 
but,  prompted  by  the  Wind  God,  the  stranger  insisted  on  having  a 
track  made  from  north  to  south,  and  again,  at  the  bidding  of  Wind, 
he  chose  the  red  stick.     The  son  of  //astre/zo^an  threw  the  wheel ; 
at  first  it  seemed  about  to  fall  on  the  gambler's  pole,  in  the  "  turkey- 
claw  "  of  which  it  was  entangled  ;  but  to  the  great  surprise  of  the 
gambler  it  extricated  itself,  rolled  farther  on,  and  fell  on  the  pole  of 
his  opponent.     The  latter  ran  to  pick  up  the  ring,  lest  No^oilpi  in 
doing  so  might  hurt  the  snake  inside ;  but  the  gambler  was  so  angry 
that  he  threw  his  stick  away  and  gave  up  the  game,  hoping  to  do 
better  in  the  next  contest,  which  was  that  of  pushing  down  trees. 

223.  For  this  the  great  gambler  pointed  out  two  small  trees,  but  his 
opponent  insisted  that  larger  trees  must    be  found.     After  some 
search  they  agreed  upon  two  of  good  size,  which  grew  close  together, 
and  of  these  the  Wind  told  the  youth  which  one  he  must  select. 
The  gambler  strained  with  all  his  might  at  his  tree,  but  could  not 
move  it,  while  his  opponent,  when  his  turn  came,  shoved  the  other 
tree  prostrate  with  little  effort,  for  its  roots  had  all  been  severed 
by  Gopher. 


86  Navaho  Legends. 

224.  Then  followed  a  variety  of  games,  on  which  No/^oilpi  staked 
his  wealth  in  shells  and  precious  stones,  his  houses,  and  many  of  his 
slaves,  and  lost  all. 

225.  The  last  game  was  that  of  the  ball.     On  the  line  over  which 
the  ball  was  to  be  knocked  all  the  people  were  assembled ;  on  one 
side  were  those  who  still  remained  slaves  ;  on  the  other  side  were 
the  freedmen  and  those  who  had  come  to  wager  themselves,  hoping 
to  rescue  their  kinsmen.     No//oilpi  bet  on  this  game  the  last  of  his 
slaves  and  his  own  person.     The  gambler  struck  his  ball  a  heavy 
blow,  but  it  did  not  reach  the  line  ;  the  stranger  gave  his  but  a  light 
tap,  and  the  bird  within  it  flew  with  it  far  beyond  the  line,  whereat 
the  released  captives  jumped  over  the  line  and  joined  their  people. 

226.  The  victor  ordered  all  the  shells,  beads,  and  precious  stones, 
and  the  great  shells,  to  be  brought  forth.     He  gave  the  beads  and 
shells  to  //asUeyal/i,  that  they  might  be  distributed  among  the  gods  ; 
the  two  great  shells  were  given  to  the  Sun.77 

227.  In  the  mean  time  No/zoilpi  sat  to  one  side  saying  bitter  things, 
bemoaning  his  fate,  and  cursing  and  threatening  his  enemies.     "  I 
will  kill  you  all  with  the  lightning.     I  will  send  war  and  disease 
among  you.     May  the  cold  freeze  you !     May  the  fire  burn  you ! 
May  the  waters  drown  you  !  "  he  cried.     "  He  has  cursed  enough," 
whispered  Ni'ltri  to  the  son  of  £festi££o/an.     "  Put  an  end  to  his 
angry  words."    So  the  young  victor  called  No/zoilpi  to  him  and  said  : 
"  You  have  bet  yourself  and  have  lost  ;  you  are  now  my  slave  and 
must  do  my  bidding.     You  are  not  a  god,  for  my  power  has  prevailed 
against  yours."     The  victor  had  a  bow  of  magic  power  named  E/i'n 
Dilyl'l,  or  the  Bow  of  Darkness ;  he  bent  this  upwards,  and  placing 
the  string  on  the  ground  he  bade  his  slave  stand  on  the  string ; 
then  he  shot  No/zoflpi  up  into  the  sky  as  if  he  had  been  an  arrow. 
Up  and  up  he  went,  growing  smaller  and  smaller  to  the  sight  till 
he  faded  to  a  mere  speck  and  finally  disappeared  altogether.     As  he 
flew  upwards  he  was  heard  to  mutter  in  the  angry  tones  of  abuse 
and  imprecation,  until  he  was  too  far  away  to  be  heard ;  but  no  one 
could  distinguish  anything  he  said  as  he  ascended. 

228.  He  flew  up  in  the  sky  until  he  came  to  the  home  of  Beko- 
tjfafi,78  the  god  who  carries  the  moon,  and  who  is  supposed  by  the 
Navahoes  to  be  identical  with  the  God  of  the  Americans.     He  is 
very  old,  and  dwells  in  a  long  row  of  stone  houses.     When  No/zoflpi 
arrived  at  the  house  of  Bekotnu/i  he  related  to  the  latter  all -his  mis- 
adventures in  the  lower  world  and  said,  "  Now  I  am  poor,  and  this  is 
why  I  have  come  to  see  you."     "  You  need  be  poor  no  longer,"  said 
Bekot  s\d\ ;  "I  will  provide  for  you."     So  he  made  for  the  gambler 
pets  or  domestic  animals  of  new  kinds,  different  to  those  which  he 
had  in   the  Chaco  valley  ;  he  made  for  him  sheep,  asses,   horses, 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  87 

swine,  goats,  and  fowls.  He  also  gave  him  bayeta™  and  other  cloths 
of  bright  colors,  more  beautiful  than  those  woven  by  his  slaves  at 
Kintyel.  He  made,  too,  a  new  people,  the  Mexicans,  for  the  gam- 
bler to  rule  over,  and  then  he  sent  him  back  to  this  world  again,  but 
he  descended  far  to  the  south  of  his  former  abode,  and  reached  the 
earth  in  old  Mexico. 

229.  No/^oilpi's  people  increased  greatly  in  Mexico,  and  after  a 
while  they  began  to  move  towards  the  north,  and  build  towns  along 
the  Rio  Grande.     No/^oilpi  came  with  them  until  they  arrived  at  a 
place  north  of  Santa   Fe.     There  they  ceased  building,  and  he  re- 
turned to  old  Mexico,  where  he  still  lives,  and  where  he  is  now  the 
Nakai  Z>igmi,  or  God  of  the  Mexicans. 

230.  The  Navaho  who  went  at  the  bidding  of  the  Sun  to  the  tryst 
of  the  gods  stayed  with  them  till  the  gambler  was  shot  into  the  sky. 
Then  he  returned  to  his  people  and  told  all  he  had  seen.    The  young 
stranger  went  back  to  Tse'gihi,  the  home  of  the  yei. 

231.  The  wanderers  were  not  long  at  Kintyel,  but  while  they  were 
they  met  some  of  the  Daylight  People.     From  Kintyel  they  moved 
to  TbTn^otsos,  and  here  Mai,80  the  Coyote,  married  a  Navaho  woman. 
He  remained  in  the  Navaho  camp  nine  days,  and  then  he  went  to 
visit   Z>asani,    the    Porcupine.     The   latter   took   a   piece    of   bark, 
scratched  his  nose  with  it  till  the  blood  flowed  freely  out  over  it, 
put  it  on  the  fire,  and  there  roasted  it  slowly  until  it  turned  into  a 
piece  of  fine  meat.     Porcupine  then  spread  some  clean  herbs  on  the 
ground,  laid  the  roasted  meat  on  these,  and  invited  his  visitor  to 
partake.     Coyote  was  delighted ;   he  had  never  had  a  nicer  meal, 
and  when  he  was  leaving  he  invited  his  host  to  return  the  visit  in 
two  days.     At  the  appointed  time  Porcupine  presented  himself  at 
the  hut  of  Coyote.     The  latter  greeted  his    guest,   bade   him   be 
seated,  and  rushed  out  of  the  house.     In  a  few  minutes  he  returned 
with  a  piece  of  bark.     With  this  he  scratched  his  nose,  as  he  had 
seen   Porcupine  doing,  and  allowed  the  blood  to  flow.     He  placed 
the  bloody  bark  over  the  fire,  where  in  a  moment  it  burst  into  flames 
and  was  soon  reduced  to  ashes.     Coyote  hung  his  head  in  shame 
and  Porcupine  went  home  hungry. 

232.  Soon  after  this  Coyote  visited  Maitso,80  the  Wolf.     The  lat- 
ter took  down,  from  among  the  rafters  of  his  hut,  two  of  the  old- 
fashioned  reed  arrows  with  wooden  heads,  such  as  the  Navahoes 
used  in  the  ancient  days ;  he  pulled  out  the  wooden  points,  rolled 
them  on  his  thigh,  moistened  them  in  his  mouth,  and  buried  them 
in  the  hot  ashes  beside  the  fire.     After  waiting  a  little  while  and 
talking  to  his  guest,  he  raked  out  from  the  ashes,  where  he  had 
buried  the  arrow  points,  two  fine  cooked  puddings  of  minced  meat ; 
these  he  laid  on  a  mat  of  fresh  herbs  and  told  Coyote  to  help  him- 


88  Navaho  Legends. 

self.  Coyote  again  enjoyed  his  meal  greatly,  and  soon  after,  when 
he  rose  to  leave,  he  invited  Wolf  to  pay  him  a  visit  in  two  days. 
Wolf  went  in  due  time  to  the  house  of  Coyote,  and  when  he  had 
seated  himself  the  host  took  two  arrow-heads,  as  Wolf  had  done, 
rolled  them  on  his  thigh,  put  them  in  his  mouth,  and  buried  them  in 
the  hot  ashes.  After  waiting  a  while,  he  raked  the  ashes  and  found 
nothing  but  two  pieces  of  charred  wood  where  he  had  placed  the 
arrow-heads.  This  time  he  gave  no  evidence  of  his  disappointment, 
but  sat  and  talked  with  his  guest  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened, 
until  Wolf,  seeing  no  sign  of  dinner  and  becoming  very  hungry,  got 
up  and  went  home. 

233.  In  those  days  the  Chicken-hawks  and  the  Hummingbirds 
were  known  as  great  hunters.     They  were  friendly  to  one  another 
and  dwelt  together  in  one  camp. 

234.  Coyote  went  to  pay  them  a  visit,  and  when  he  arrived  at  the 
camp  he  entered  one  of  the  huts  of  the  Hummingbirds.     He  found 
therein  two  beautiful   Hummingbird  maidens,  gayly  dressed,  with 
rows  of  deer-hoof  pendants  on  their  skirts  and  shoulders.     He  lay 
down  in  the  lodge  and  said  to  the  maidens  :  "  Where  is  everybody 
to-day  ?     I  heard    there  were  many  people  camped  here,  but  the 
camp  seems  deserted."     The  maidens  replied:    " There  are  many 
people  camped  here,  but  to-day  the  men  are  all  out  hunting." 

235.  Now,  Coyote  was  a  dandy  ;  he  was  always  beautifully  dressed  ; 
he  had  a  nice  otter-skin  quiver  and  his  face  was  painted  in  spots. 
The  maidens,  when  they  had  looked  well  at  him,  bent  their  heads 
together  and  whispered  to  one  another,  "  He  is  a  handsome  young 
man.     He  is  beautifully  dressed.      He  must  be  a  person  of  some 
importance."     He  spent  the  day  gossipping  with  the  maidens  and 
telling  them  wonderful  tales  about  himself.     "Would  you  know  who 
I  am  ?  "  he  said.     "  I  am  the  God  of  Tsisnad^i'ni  Mountain.     I  have 
no  need  to  hunt.     All  I  have  to  do  is  to  will  the  death  of  an  animal 
and  it  dies.     Your  people  have  no  need  to  wear  themselves  out 
hunting  for  game.     I  can  kill  all  they  want  without  labor." 

236.  At  nightfall,  when  the  hunters  returned,  the  maidens  left  the 
lodge,  went  to  where  their  friends  were  assembled,  and  told  them  all 
about  the  visitor.     When  the  maidens  had  finished  their  story,  the 
chief  directed  one  of  the  young  men  to  go  over  to  the  hut,  peep  in 
over  the  curtain  in  the  doorway,  and  see  what  the  stranger  looked 
like.     The  young  man  did  as  he  was  bidden,  making  no  noise,  and 
looked  into  the  lodge  unobserved  by  Coyote.     When  he  returned  to 
the  chief  he  said  :  "The  stranger  is  a  fine-looking  man  and  is  beau- 
tifully dressed.     Perhaps  he  is  indeed  a  god."     The  chief  then  said  : 
"  It  may  be  that  all  is  true  which  he  has  told  the  maidens.    We  have 
to  travel  far  in  all  sorts  of  weather  and  to  work  hard  to  secure  food. 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  89 

He  may  know  some  way  to  save  us  from  labor,  so  let  us  be  kind  to 
him.  Go,  one  of  you  maidens,  back  to  the  lodge  to  serve  him." 
Hearing  these  words,  the  younger  of  the  two  young  women  returned 
to  the  lodge.  Her  clothing  was  ornamented  with  many  pendants  of 
bone  and  hoof  that  rattled  with  every  movement  she  made,  and  for 
this  reason  Coyote  named  her  Trike  Nazi'li,  or  Young  Woman  Who 
Rattles. 

237.  In  the  morning  she  went  to  the  lodge  where  her  people  were, 
and  where  a  good  breakfast  was  already  prepared,  and  she  brought  a 
large  dishful  of  the  food  for  Coyote  to  eat.     As  she  was  about  to 
depart  with  the  food  her  people  charged  her  to  tell  Coyote  nothing 
of  certain  bad  neighbors  of  theirs,  lest  he  might  visit  them  and  work 
wonders  for  their   benefit.      But   their  injunctions  came  too  late. 
Already  Trike  Nazi'li  had  told  him  all  about  these  bad  neighbors, 
and  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  visit  them. 

238.  When  breakfast  was  over  she  said :  "  Now  the  hunters  are 
going  out."     He  replied  :  "I  will  go  with  them."     So  he  joined  the 
party,  and  they  travelled  together  till  they  got  to  the  brow  of  a  high 
hill  which  overlooked  an  extensive  country.  Here  Coyote  told  his  com- 
panions to  remain  concealed  while  he  went  into  the  plain  and  drove 
the  game  toward  them.     When  he  got  out  of  sight,  he  tied  to  his 
tail  a  long  fagot  of  shredded  cedar-bark,  which  he  set  on  fire,  and 
then  he  ran  over  the  country  in  a  wide  circle  as  fast  as  he  could  go. 
Everywhere  the  fagot  touched  it  set  fire  to  the  grass,  and  raised  a 
long  line  of  flame  and  smoke  which  drove  the  antelope  up  to  where 
the  hunters  were  concealed.     A  great  quantity  of  game  was  killed  ; 
the  hunters  returned  laden  with  meat,  and  their  faith  in  Coyote  was 
unbounded. 

239.  Next  morning  they  all  went  out  once  more  to  hunt.     Again 
the  hunters  concealed  themselves  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  and  again 
Coyote  tied  the  blazing  fagot  to  his  tail  and  ran.    The  people  on  the 
hilltop  watched  the  line  of  fire  advancing  over  the  plain ;  but  when 
it  turned  around  as  if  to  come  back  to  the  place  from  which  it 
started,  it   suddenly  ceased.     Much  game  was  driven  toward  the 
party  in  ambush  ;  but  Coyote  did  not  return,  and  the  hunters  went 
to  work  cutting  up  the  meat  and  cooking  food  for  themselves. 

240.  Coyote,  in  the  mean  time,  had  gone  to  seek  the  bad  neigh- 
bors.    He  untied  his  brand  at  the  place  where  the  hunters  had  seen 
the  line  of  fire  cease,  and  wandered  off  in  a  different  direction. 
After  a  while  he  came  to  two  great  trees,  a  spruce  and  a  pine,  grow- 
ing close  together,  and  filled  with  chattering  birds  of  two  kinds. 
The  spruce-tree  was  filled  with  birds  called  Tsi'di  Be.se,  and  the  pine- 
tree  with  birds  called  Tsi'di  Sari.     They  were  all  busily  engaged  in 
playing  a  game  which  Coyote  had  never  seen  before.     They  would 


90  Navaho  Legends. 

pull  out  their  eyes,  toss  these  up  to  the  top  of  the  tree,  cry  "  Drop 
back,  my  eyes  !  Drop  back !  "  and  catch  the  eyes  as  they  descended 
in  their  proper  sockets.  Coyote  watched  their  play  for  a  long  time, 
and  at  length,  becoming  fascinated  with  the  game,  he  cried  out  to 
the  Tsi'di  Sasi  in  the  pine-tree,  "  Pull  out  my  eyes  for  me.  I  want 
to  play,  too."  "  No,"  they  replied,  "we  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 
you."  Again  and  again  he  begged  to  be  allowed  to  join  in  the 
sport,  and  again  and  again  they  refused  him.  But  when  he  had 
pleaded  for  the  fourth  time,  they  flew  down  to  where  Coyote  sat,  and, 
taking  sharp  sticks,  they  gouged  his  eyes  out.  The  eyes  were 
thrown  up  to  the  top  of  the  pine-tree,  and  when  they  fell  down 
Coyote  caught  them  in  his  orbits  and  could  see  again  as  well  as 
ever.  Coyote  was  delighted  with  the  result  of  his  first  venture,  and 
he  begged  them  to  pull  his  eyes  out  again,  but  they  said  angrily : 
"  We  do  not  want  to  play  with  you.  We  have  done  enough  for  you 
now.  Go  and  leave  us."  But  he  continued  to  whine  and  beg  until 
again  they  pulled  out  his  eyes  and  tossed  them  up  with  the  same 
happy  result  as  before.  Thus  four  times  were  his  eyes  pulled  out, 
thrown  upward,  and  caught  back  again  in  the  head.  But  when  he 
begged  them  to  pull  out  his  eyes  for  the  fifth  time,  they  went  to  a 
distance  and  held  a  council  among  themselves.  When  they  returned 
they  pulled  his  eyes  out  once  more ;  but  this  time  they  took  pains 
to  pull  out  the  strings  of  the  eyes  (optic  nerves)  at  the  same  time  ; 
these  they  tied  together,  and,  when  the  eyes  were  again  flung  up  in 
the  tree,  they  caught  on  one  of  the  branches  and  there  they  stayed. 
Now  Coyote  was  in  mortal  distress.  "  Drop  back,  my  eyes  !  Drop 
back  !  "  he  cried.  But  back  they  never  came,  and  he  sat  there  with 
his  nose  pointed  up  toward  the  top  of  the  tree,  and  he  howled  and 
prayed  and  wept.  At  last  the  birds  took  pity  on  him  and  said : 
"  Let  us  make  other  eyes  for  him."  So  they  took  a  couple  of  partly 
dried  pieces  of  pine  gum  and  rolled  them  into  two  balls ;  these  were 
stuck  into  the  empty  sockets,  and,  although  they  were  not  good  eyes, 
they  gave  him  sight  enough  to  see  his  way  home.  The  gum  was 
yellow,  and  for  this  reason  coyotes  have  had  yellow  eyes  ever  since. 
241.  He  crept  back,  as  best  he  could,  to  the  place  where  he  had 
left  the  hunters,  and  where  he  found  them  cutting  and  cooking  meat. 
He  sat  down  facing  the  fire,  but  he  soon  found  that  his  gum  eyes 
were  getting  soft  with  the  heat,  so  he  turned  his  side  to  the  fire. 
The  hunters  gave  him  a  piece  of  raw  liver,  supposing  he  would  cook 
it  himself.  Not  daring  to  turn  towards  the  fire,  lest  his  eyes  should 
melt  altogether,  he  threw  the  liver  on  the  coals  without  looking,  and 
when  he  tried  afterwards  to  take1  it  up  he  thrust  his  hand  at  random 
into  the  fire  and  caught  nothing  but  hot  coals  that  burned  him. 
Fearing  that  his  strange  action  was  observed,  he  tried  to  pass  it  off 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  9 1 

as  a  joke,  and  every  time  he  picked  up  a  hot  coal  he  cried :  "  Don't 
burn  me,  liver !  Don't  burn  me,  liver  !  "  After  a  while  the  hunters 
seated  around  the  fire  began  to  notice  his  singular  motions  and 
words,  and  one  said  to  another  :  "  He  does  not  act  as  usual.  Go  and 
see  what  is  the  matter  with  him."  The  hunter  who  was  thus  bidden 
went  over  in  front  of  Coyote,  looked  at  him  closely,  and  saw  melted 
gum  pouring  out  from  between  his  eyelids. 

242.  It  happened  that  during  the  day,  while  Coyote  was  absent, 
a  messenger  had  come  to  the  camp  of  the  hunters  from  another 
camp  to  tell  them  that  an  individual  named  Mai,  or  Coyote,  had  left 
his  home,  and  had  been  seen  going  toward  the  camp  of  the  Hum- 
mingbirds, and  to  warn  them  against  him.     "  He  is  an  idler  and  a 
trickster,  —  beware  of  him,"  said  the  messenger.      So  when    they 
found  out  the  condition  of  their  visitor  they  said  :  "This  must  be 
Coyote  of  whom  we  have  heard.     He  has  been   playing  with  the 
Tsi'di  .Sa^i  and  has  lost  his  eyes." 

243.  When  they  had  arrived  at  this  conclusion  they  started  for 
camp  and  led  the  blind  Coyote  along.    In  the  mean  time  they  devised 
a  plan  for  getting  rid  of  him.     When  they  got  home  they  took  the 
rattling  dress  of  Trike  ^azi'li  and  gave  her  an  ordinary  garment  to 
wear.     Then  a  Chicken-hawk  took  the  dress  in  his  beak,  and,  flying 
a  little  distance  above  the  ground,  shook  the  dress  in  front  of  Coyote. 
The  latter,  thinking  the  maiden  was  there,  approached  the  sound, 
and  as  he  did  so  the  Chicken-hawk  flew  farther  away,  still  shaking 
the  dress.     Coyote  followed  the  rattling  sound,  and  was  thus  led  on 
to  the  brink  of  a  deep  canyon.     Here  the  hawk  shook  the  dress 
beyond  the  edge  of  the  precipice.     Coyote  jumped  toward  where  he 
heard  the  sound,  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  canyon,  and  was  dashed 
to  pieces. 

244.  But  for  all  this  he  did  not  die.     He  did  not,  like  other  beings, 
keep  his  vital  principle  in  his  chest,  where  it  might  easily  be  de- 
stroyed ;  he  kept  it  in  the  tip  of  his  nose  and  in  the  end  of  his  tail, 
where  no  one  would  expect  to  find  it ;  so  after  a  while  he  came  to 
life  again,  went  back  to  the  camp  of  the  birds,  and  asked  for  Tnke 
Nazi'li.     They  told  him  she  was  gone  away,  and  ordered  him  an- 
grily to  leave,  telling  him  they  knew  who  he  was,  and  that  he  was  a 
worthless  fellow. 

245.  Coyote  left  the  camp  of  the  birds,  and  wandered  around  till  he 
came  to  the  house  of  one  of  the  anaye,  or  alien  gods,  named  Ye/apahi,71 
or  Brown  Giant.     He  was  half  as  tall  as  the  tallest  pine-tree,  and 
he  was  evil  and  cruel.     Coyote  said  to  the  Brown  Giant,  "  Ye/apahi,. 
I  want  to  be  your  servant ;  I  can  be  of  great  help  to   you.     The 
reason  that  you  often  fail  to  catch  your  enemies  is  that  you  cannot 
run  fast  enough.     I  can  run  fast  and  jump  far ;  I  can  jump  over 


92  Navaho  Legends. 

four  bushes  at  one  bound.  I  can  run  after  your  enemies  and  help 
you  to  catch  them."  "My  cousin,"  responded  Brown  Giant,  "you 
can  do  me  service  if  you  will."  Coyote  then  directed  the  giant  to 
build  a  sweat-house  for  himself,  and,  while  the  latter  was  building  it, 
Coyote  set  out  on  another  errand. 

246.  In  those  days  there  was  a  maiden  of  renowned  beauty  in  the 
land.     She  was  the  only  sister  of  eleven  divine  brothers.81     She  had 
been  sought  in  marriage  by  the  Sun  and  by  many  potent  gods,  but 
she  had  refused  them  all  because  they  could  not  comply  with  certain 
conditions  which  she  imposed  on  all  suitors.     It  was  to  visit  her 
that  Coyote  went  when  he  left  Ye/apahi  at  work  on  the  sweat-house. 

247.  "  Why  have  you  refused  so  many  beautiful  gods  who  want 
you  for  a  wife  ?"  said  Coyote  to  the  maiden  after  he  had  greeted  her. 
"It  would  profit  you  nothing  to  know,"  she  replied,  "for  you  could 
not  comply  with  any  one  of  my  demands."     Four  times  he  asked 
her  this  question,  and  three  times  he  got  the  same  reply.     When  he 
asked  her  the  fourth  time  she  answered :  "  In  the  first  place,  I  will 
not  marry  any  one  who  has  not  killed  one  of  the  anaye."     When  he 
heard  this  Coyote  arose  and  returned  to  the  place  where  he  had  left 
Y6/apahi. 

248.  On  his  way  back  he  looked  carefully  for  the  bone  of  some 
big  animal  which  Great  Wolf  had  slain  and  eaten.     At  length  he 
found  a  long  thigh-bone  which  suited  his  purpose.     He  took  this 
home  with  him,  concealing  it  under  his  shirt.     When  Coyote  got 
back,  Ye/apahi  had  finished  the  sweat-house.82     Together  they  built 
the  fire,  heated  the  stones,  and  spread  the  carpet  of  leaves.     Coyote 
hung  over  the  doorway  four  blankets  of  sky,  —  one  white,  one  blue, 
one  yellow,  and  one  black,  and  put  the  hot  stones  into  the  lodge. 
Then  they  hung   their  arms  and  clothes  on  a  neighboring  tree, 
entered  the  sudatory,  and  sat  down.83 

249.  "  Now,"  said  Coyote,  "if  you  want  to  become  a  fast  runner, 
I  will  show  you  what  to  do.     You  must  cut  the  flesh  of  your  thigh 
down  to  the  bone  and  then  break  the  bone.     It  will  heal  again  in  a 
moment,  and  when  it  heals  you  will  be  stronger  and  swifter  than 
ever.     I  often  do  this  myself,  and  every  time  I  do  it  I  am  fleeter  of 
foot  than  I  was  before.     I  will  do  it  now,  so  that  you  may  observe 
how  it  is  done."     Coyote  then  produced  a  great  stone  knife  and  pre- 
tended to  cut  his  own  thigh,  wailing  and  crying  in  the  mean  time, 
and  acting  as  if  he  suffered  great  pain.     After  a  while  of  this  pre- 
tence he  put  the  old  femur  on  top  of  his  thigh,  held  it  by  both  ends, 
and  said  to  the  giant:   "I  have  now  reached  the  bone.     Feel  it." 
When  the  giant  had  put  forth  his  hand,  in  the  absolute  darkness  of 
the  sweat-house,  and  felt  the  bare  bone,  Coyote  shoved  the  hand 
away  and  struck  the  bone  hard  with  the  edge  of  his  knife   several 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  93 

times  until  he  broke  the  bone,  and  he  made  the  giant  feel  the  frac- 
tured ends.  Then  he  threw  away  the  old  bone,  rubbed  spittle  on 
his  thigh,  prayed  and  sang,  and  in  a  little  while  presented  his  sound 
thigh  to  the  giant  for  his  examination,  saying:  "See!  my  limb  is 
healed  again.  It  is  as  well  as  ever."  When  he  had  thus  spoken 
Coyote  handed  his  knife  to  Ye/apahi,  and  the  latter  with  many  tears 
and  loud  howls  slowly  amputated  his  own  thigh.  When  the  work 
was  done  he  put  the  two  severed  ends  together,  spat  upon  them, 
sang  and  prayed,  as  Coyote  had  done.  "  Tone  !  Tohe  !  Tohe  !  "  M  he 
cried,  "  Heal  together  !  Grow  together  !  "  he  commanded  ;  but  the 
severed  ends  would  not  unite.  "  Cousin,"  he  called  to  Coyote, 
"help  me  to  heal  this  leg."  Coyote  thought  it  was  now  time  to 
finish  his  work.  He  ran  from  the  sweat-house,  seized  his  bow,  and 
discharged  his  arrows  into  the  helpless  Ye/apahi,  who  soon  expired 
with  many  wounds. 

250.  Coyote  scalped  his  victim,  and  tied  the  scalp  to  the  top  of  a 
branch  which  he  broke  from  a  cedar-tree;  as  further  evidence  of  his 
victory,  he  took  the  quiver  and  weapons  of  the  slain  and  set  out  for 
the  lodge  of  the  maiden.  He  knew  she  could  not  mistake  the  scalp, 
for  the  yei,  in  those  days,  had  yellow  hair,85  such  as  no  other  people 
had.  When  he  reached  the  lodge  he  said  to  the  maiden  :  "  Here  is 
the  scalp  and  here  are  the  weapons  of  one  of  the  anaye.  Now  you 
must  marry  me."  "  No,"  said  the  maiden,  "  not  yet ;  I  have  not 
told  you  all  that  one  must  do  in  order  to  win  me.  He  must  be  killed 
four  times  and  come  to  life  again  four  times."  "Do  you  speak  the 
truth  ?  Have  you  told  me  all  ?  "  said  Coyote.  "  Yes  ;  I  speak  only 
the  truth,"  she  replied.  Four  times  he  asked  this  question,  and 
four  times  he  received  the  same  answer.  When  she  had  spoken  for 
the  fourth  time  Coyote  said  :  "  Here  I  am.  Do  with  me  as  you  will." 
The  maiden  took  him  a  little  distance  from  the  lodge,  laid  him  on 
the  ground,  beat  him  with  a  great  club  until  she  thought  she  had 
smashed  every  bone  in  his  body,  and  left  him  for  dead.  But  the 
point  of  his  nose  and  the  end  of  his  tail  she  did  not  smash.  She 
hurried  back  to  her  hut,  for  she  had  much  work  to  do.  She  was  the 
only  woman  in  a  family  of  twelve.  She  cooked  the  food  and  tanned 
the  skins,  and  besides  she  made  baskets.  At  this  particular  time 
she  was  engaged  in  making  four  baskets.  When  she  returned  to 
the  lodge  she  sat  down  and  went  on  with  her  basket-work ;  but  she 
had  not  worked  long  before  she  became  aware  that  some  one  was 
standing  in  the  doorway,  and,  looking  up,  she  beheld  Coyote.  "  Here 
I  am,"  he  said  ;  "  I  have  won  one  game  ;  there  are  only  three  more 
to  win." 

251.  She  made  no  reply,  but  took  him  off  farther  than  she  had 
taken  him  before,  and  pounded  him  to  pieces  with  a  club.  She  threw 


94  Navaho  Legends. 

the  pieces  away  in  different  directions  and  returned  to  her  work 
again ;  but  she  had  not  taken  many  stitches  in  her  basket  when 
again  the  resurrected  Coyote  appeared  in  the  doorway,  saying :  "I 
have  won  two  games  ;  there  are  only  two  more  to  win." 

252.  Again  she  led  trim  forth,  but  took  him  still  farther  away 
from  the  lodge  than  she  had  taken  him  before,  and  with  a  heavy 
club  pounded  him  into  a  shapeless  mass,  until  she  thought  he  must 
certainly  be  dead.     She  stood  a  long  time  gazing  at  the  pounded 
flesh,  and  studying  what  she  would   do  with  it  to   make  her  work 
sure.     She  carried  the  mass  to  a  great  rock,  and  there  she  beat  it 
into  still  finer  pieces.     These  she  scattered  farther  than  she  had 
scattered  the  pieces  before,  and  went  back  to  the  house.     But  she 
had  still  failed  to  injure  the  two  vital  spots.     It  took  the  Coyote  a 
longer  time  on  this  occasion  than  on  the  previous  occasions  to  pull 
himself  together ;    still  she  had  not  wrought  much  on  her  basket 
when  he  again   presented  himself   and  said :    "  I   have  won  three 
games  ;  there  is  but  one  more  game  to  win." 

253.  The  fourth  time  she  led  him  farther  away  than  ever.     She 
not  only  mashed  him  to  pieces,  but  she  mixed  the  pieces  with  earth, 
ground  the  mixture,  like    corn,  between  two  stones,  until   it  was 
ground  to  a  fine  powder,  and  scattered  this  powder  far  and  wide. 
But  again  she  neglected  to  crush  the  point  of  the  nose  and  the  tip 
of  the  tail.     She  went  back  to  the  lodge  and  worked  a  long  time 
undisturbed.     She  had  just  begun  to  entertain  hopes  that  she  had 
seen  the  last  of  her  unwelcome  suitor  when  again  he  entered  the 
door.     Now,  at  last,  she  could  not  refuse  him.     He  had  fulfilled  all 
her  conditions,  and  she  consented  to  become  his  wife.    He  remained 
all  the  afternoon.     At  sunset  they  heard  the  sound  of  approaching 
footsteps,  and  she  said  :  "  My  brothers  are  coming.     Some  of  them 
are  evil  of  mind  and  may  do  you  harm.     You  must  hide  yourself." 
She  hid  him  behind  a  pile  of  skins,  and  told  him  to  be  quiet. 

254.  When  the  brothers  entered  the  lodge  they  said  to  their  sis- 
ter :  "  Here  is  some  fat  young  venison  which  we  bring  you.     Put  it 
down  to  boil  and  put  some  of  the  fat  into  the  pot,  for  our  faces  are 
burned  by  the  wind  and  we  want  to  grease  them."   The  woman  slept 
on  the  north  side  of  the  lodge  and  kept  there  her  household  utensils. 
She  had  about  half  of  the  lodge  to  herself.     The  men  slept  on  the 
south  side,  the  eldest  next  to  the  door. 

255.  The  pot  was  put  on  and  the  fire  replenished,  and  when  it 
began  to  burn  well  an  odor  denoting  the  presence  of  some  beast 
filled  the  lodge.     One  of  the  brothers  said  :  "  It  smells  as  if  some 
animal  had  been  in  the  wood-pile.     Let  us  throw  out  this  wood  and 
get  fresh   sticks  from  the  bottom  of  the  pile."     They  did  as  he 
desired ;  but  the  unpleasant  odors  continued  to  annoy  them,  and 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  95 

again  the  wood  was  taken  from  the  fire  and  thrown  away.  Thinking 
the  whole  pile  of  wood  was  tainted  with  the  smell,  they  went  out, 
broke  fresh  branches  from  trees,  and  built  the  fire  up  again ;  but 
this  did  not  abate  the  rank  odor  in  the  least.  Then  one  said  :  "  Per- 
haps the  smell  is  in  the  water.  Tell  us,  little  sister,  where  did  you 
get  the  water  in  the  pot  ?  "  "  I  got  it  at  the  spring  where  I  always 
get  it,"  she  replied.  But  they  got  her  to  throw  out  the  water  and 
fill  the  pot  with  snow,  and  to  put  the  meat  down  to  boil  again.  In 
spite  of  all  their  pains  the  stench  was  as  bad  as  ever.  At  length 
one  of  the  brothers  turned  to  his  sister  and  said :  "  What  is  the 
cause  of  this  odor  ?  It  is  not  in  the  wood.  It  is  not  in  the  water. 
Whence  comes  it?"  She  was  silent.  He  repeated  the  question 
three  times,  yet  she  made  no  answer.  But  when  the  question  had 
been  asked  for  the  fourth  time,  Coyote  jumped  out  of  his  hiding- 
place  into  the  middle  of  the  lodge  and  cried  :  "  It  is  I,  my  brothers- 
in-law  !  "  "Run  out  there  !  "  the  brothers  commanded,  and  turning 
to  their  sister  they  said  :  "  Run  out  you  with  him  !  " 

256.  They  both  departed  from  the  lodge.     As  Coyote  went  out 
he  took  a  brand  from  the  fire,  and  with  this  he  lighted  a  new  fire. 
Then  he  broke  boughs  from  the  neighboring  trees  and  built  a  shel- 
ter for  himself  and  his  wife  to  live  in.     WThen  this  was  completed 
she  went  back  to  the  lodge  of  her  brothers,  took  out  her  pots,  skins, 
four  awls,  baskets,  and  all  her  property,  and  carried  them  to  her  new 
home. 

257.  One  of  the  elder  brothers  said  to  the  youngest :  "  Go  out 
to-night  and  watch  the  couple,  and  see  what  sort  of  a  man  this  is 
that  we  have  for  a  brother-in-law.     Do  not  enter  the  shelter,  but  lie 
hidden  outside  and  observe  them."     So  the  youngest  brother  went 
forth  and  hid  himself  near  the  shelter,  where  he  could  peep  in  and 
see  by  the  light  of  the  fire  what  took  place  and  hear  what  was  said. 
The  pair  sat  side  by  side  near  the  fire.     Presently  the  woman  laid 
her  hand  in  a  friendly  manner  on  Coyote's  knee,  but  Coyote  threw 
it  away.    These  motions  were  repeated  four  times,  and  when  he  had 
thrown  her  hand  away  for  the  fourth  time  he  said  :  "  I  have  sworn 
never  to  take  a  woman  for  a  wife  until  I  have  killed  her  four  times." 
For  a  while  the  woman  remained  silent  and  gazed  at  the  fire.     At 
length  she  said :  "  Here  I  am.     Do  with  me  as  you  will."     (The 
myth  then  relates  four  deaths  and  resurrections  of  the  woman,  simi- 
lar to  those  of  the  Coyote,  but  it  does  not  state  how  or  where  she  pre- 
served her  vital  principle.)     When  she  returned  for  the  fourth  time 
she  lay  down,  and  Coyote  soon  followed  her  to  her  couch.     From 
time  to  time  during  the  night  they  held  long,  low  conversations,  of 
which  the  listener  could  hear  but  little.     At  dawn  the  watcher  went 
home.     In  reply  to  the  questions  of  his  brothers  he  said  :  "I  cannot 


g6  Navaho  Legends. 

tell  you  all  that  I  saw  and  heard,  and  they  said  much  that  I  could 
not  hear ;  but  all  that  I  did  hear  and  behold  was  Umdaj-"  (devilish, 
evil). 

258.  Next   morning  the  brothers   proposed  to   go   out   hunting. 
While  they  were  getting  ready  Coyote  came  and  asked  leave  to  join 
them,  but  they  said  to  him  tauntingly  :  "  No  ;  stay  at  home  with  your 
wife  ;  she  may  be  lonely  and  may  need  some  one  to  talk  to  her,"  and 
they  chased  him  out  of  the  lodge.     Just  as  they  were  about  to  leave 
he   came  back  again  and   begged  them   to  take  him  with    them. 
"No,"  they  replied,  "the  woman  will  want  you  to  carry  wood  ;  you 
must  stay  at  home  with  her/'     They  bade  him  begone  and  set  out 
on  their  journey.     They  had  not  gone  far  on  their  way  when  he 
overtook  them,  and  for  the  third  time  asked  to  be  allowed  to  join 
the  party  ;  but  again   they  drove  him  back  with  scornful  words. 
They  travelled  on  till  they  came  to  the  edge  of  a  deep  canyon  bor- 
dered with  very  steep  cliffs,  and  here  Coyote  was  seen  again,  skulk- 
ing behind  them.     For  the  fourth  time  he  pleaded  with  them  ;  but 
now  the  youngest  brother  took  his  part,  and  suggested  that  Coyote 
might  assist  in  driving  game  towards  them.     So,  after  some  delib- 
eration, they  consented  to  take  Coyote  along.     At  the  edge  of  the 
canyon  they  made  a  bridge  of  rainbow,86  on  which  they  proceeded  to 
cross  the  chasm.     Before  the  brothers  reached  the  opposite  bluff 
Coyote  jumped  on  it  from  the  bridge,  with  a  great  bound,  and  began 
to  frolic  around,  saying :  "This  is  a  nice  place  to  play." 

259.  They  travelled  farther  on,  and  after  a  while  came  to  a  mesa, 
or  table-land,  which  projected  into  a  lower  plain,  and  was  connected 
with  the  plateau  on  which  they  stood  by  a  narrow  neck  of  level  land. 
It  was  a  mesa  much  like  that  on  which  the  three  eastern  towns  of 
thevMokis  stand,  with  high,  precipitous  sides  and  a  narrow  entrance. 
On  the  neck  of  land  they  observed  the  tracks  of  four  Rocky  Moun- 
tain sheep,  which  had  gone  in  on  the  mesa  but  had  not  returned. 
They  had  reason,  therefore,  to  believe  that  the  sheep  were  still  on 
the  mesa.     At  the  neck  they  built  a  fire,  sat  down  near  it,  and  sent 
Coyote  in  on  the  mesa  to  drive  the  sheep  out.     Their  plans  were 
successful ;  soon  the  four  sheep  came  running  out  over  the  neck, 
within  easy  range  of  the  hunters'  weapons,  and   were   all   killed. 
Presently  Coyote  returned  and  lay  down  on  the  sand. 

260.  In  those  days  the  horns  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  were 
flat  and  fleshy  and  could  be  eaten.    The  eldest  brother  said  :  "  I  will 
take  the  horns  for  my  share."     "No,"  said  Coyote,  "the  horns  shall 
be  mine  :  give  them  to  me."     Three  times  each  repeated  the  same 
declaration.     When  both  had  spoken  for  the  fourth  time,  the  eldest 
brother,  to  end  the  controversy,  drew  out  his  knife  and  began  to 
cut  one  of  the  horns ;  as  he  did  so  Coyote  cried  out,  "Tsinantlehi ! 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  97 

Tsinantlehi!  Tsinantlehi!  Tsinantlehi ! "  (Turn  to  bone!  Turn  to 
bone  !  Turn  to  bone  !  Turn  to  bone !)  Each  time  he  cried,  the  horn 
grew  harder  and  harder,  and  the  knife  slipped  as  it  cut,  hacking  but 
not  severing  the  horn.  This  is  why  the  horns  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain sheep  are  now  hard,  not  fleshy,  and  to  this,  day  they  bear  the 
marks  of  the  hunter's  knife.  "Tji'ndi!  Tsmdas  bi/naal/i ! "  (You 
devil !  You  evil  companion  in  travel !)  said  the  hunter  to  Coyote. 

261.  The  hunters   gathered  all  the  meat  into  one  pile,  and  by 
means  of  the  mystic  power  which  they  possessed  they  reduced  it  to 
a  very  small  compass.     They  tied  it  in  a  small  bundle  which  one 
person  might  easily  carry,  and  they  gave  it  to  Coyote  to  take  home, 
saying  to  him,  "  Travel  round  by  the  head  of  the  canyon  over  which 
we  crossed  and  go  not  through  it,  for  they  are  evil  people  who  dwell 
there,  and  open  not  your  bundle  until  you  get  home." 

262.  The  bundle  was  lifted  to  his  back  and  he  started  for  home, 
promising  to  heed  all  that  had  been  told  him.    But  as  soon  as  he  was 
well  out  of  sight  of  his  companions  he  slipped  his  bundle  to  the 
ground  and  opened  it.     At  once  the  meat  expanded  and  became 
again  a  heap  of  formidable  size,  such  that  he  could  not  bind  it  up 
again  or  carry  it ;  so  he  hung  some  of  it  up  on  the  trees  and  bushes  ; 
he  stuck  part  of  it  into  crevices  in  the  rocks  ;  a  portion  he  left  scat- 
tered on  the  ground ;  he  tied  up  as  much  as  he  could  carry  in  a  new 
bundle,  and  with  this  he  continued  on  his  journey. 

263.  When  he  came  to  the  edge  of   the   forbidden   canyon  he 
looked  down  and  saw  some  birds  playing  a  game  he  had  never  wit- 
nessed  before.     They  rolled  great   stones  down  the  slope,  which 
extended  from  the  foot  of  the  cliff  to  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  and 
stood  on  the  stones  while  they  were  rolling ;  yet  the  birds  were  not 
upset  or  crushed  or  hurt  in  the  least  by  this  diversion.     The  sight 
so  pleased  Coyote  that  he  descended  into  the  canyon  and  begged  to 
be  allowed  to  join  in  the  sport.     The  birds  rolled  a  stone  gently  for 
him  ;  he  got  on  it  and  handled  himself  so  nimbly  that  he  reached 
the  bottom  of  the  slope  without  injury.    Again  and  again  he  begged 
them  to  give  him  a  trial  until  he  thus  three  times  descended  without 
hurting  himself.     When  he  asked  the  birds  for  the  fourth  time  to 
roll  a  stone  for  him  they  became  angry  and  hurled  it  with  such  force 
that  Coyote  lost  his  footing,  and  he  and  the  stone  rolled  over  one 
another  to  the  bottom  of  the  slope,  and  he  screamed  and  yelped  all 
the  way  down. 

264.  After  this  experience  he  left  the  birds  and  travelled  on  until 
he  observed  some  Otters  at  play  by  the  stream  at  the  bottom  of  the 
canyon.     They  were  playing  the  Navaho  game  of   nanzoz.     They 
bet  their  skins  against  one  another  on  the  results  of  the  game.     But 
when  one  lost  his  skin  at  play  he  jumped  into  the  water  and  came 


98  Navaho  Legends. 

out  with  a  new  skin.  Coyote  approached  the  Otters  and  asked  to  be 
allowed  to  take  part  in  the  game,  but  the  Otters  had  heard  about 
him  and  knew  what  a  rascal  he  was.  They  refused  him  and  told 
him  to  begone;  but  still  he  remained  and  pleaded.  After  a  while 
they  went  apart  and  talked  among  themselves,  and  when  they  re- 
turned they  invited  Coyote  to  join  them  in  their  game.  Coyote  bet 
his  skin  and  lost  it.  The  moment  he  lost,  the  Otters  all  rushed  at 
him,  and,  notwitstanding  his  piteous  cries,  they  tore  the  hide  from 
his  back,  beginning  at  the  root  of  his  tail  and  tearing  forward. 
When  they  came  to  the  vital  spot  at  the  end  of  his  nose  his  wails 
were  terrible.  When  he  found  himself  denuded  of  his  skin  he 
jumped  into  the  water,  as  he  had  seen  the  Otters  doing;  but,  alas  ! 
his  skin  did  not  come  back  to  him.  He  jumped  again  and  again 
into  the  water ;  but  came  out  every  time  as  bare  as  he  went  in.  At 
length  he  became  thoroughly  exhausted,  and  lay  down  in  the  water 
until  the  Otters  took  pity  on  him  and  pulled  him  out.  They  dragged 
him  to  a  badger  hole,  threw  him  in  there,  and  covered  him  up  witji 
earth.  Previous  to  this  adventure  Coyote  had  a  beautiful,  smooth 
fur  like  that  of  the  otter.  When  he  dug  his  way  out  of  the  badger 
hole  he  was  again  covered  with  hair,  but  it  was  no  longer  the  glossy 
fur  which  he  once  wore ;  it  was  coarse  and  rough,  much  like  that  of 
the  badger,  and  such  a  pelt  the  coyotes  have  worn  ever  since. 

265.  But  this  sad  experience  did   not  make  him  mend  his  ways. 
He  again  went  round  challenging  the  Otters  to  further  play,  and 
betting  his  new  skin  on  the  game.     "  Your  skin  is  of  no  value ;  no 
one  would   play  for  it.     Begone  !  "  they  said.     Being  often  refused 
and  insolently  treated,  he  at  length  became  angry,  retired  to  a  safe 
distance,  and  began  to  revile  the  Otters  shamefully.     "  You  are  brag- 
garts," he  cried;  "you  pretend  to  be  brave,  but  you  are  cowards. 
Your  women  are  like  yourselves  :  their  heads  are  flat ;  their  eyes 
are  little  ;  their  teeth  stick  out ;  they  are  ugly ;  while  I  have  a  bride 
as  beautiful  as  the  sun."     He  shook  his  foot  at  them  as  if  to  say, 
"  I  am  fleeter  than  you."     He  would  approach  them,  and  when  they 
made  motion  as  if  to  pursue  him,  he  would  take  a  big  jump  and 
soon  place  himself  beyond  their  reach.     When  they  quieted  down, 
he  would  approach  them   again  and  continue  to  taunt  and  revile 
them.     After  a  while  he  went  to  the  cliff,  to  a  place  of  safety,  and 
shouted  from  there  his  words  of  derision.     The  Otters  talked  to- 
gether, and  said  they  could  suffer  his  abuse  no  longer,  that  something 
must  be  done,  and  they  sent  word  to  the  chiefs  of  the  Spiders,  who 
lived  farther  down  the  stream,  telling  them  what  had  occurred,  and 
asking  for  their  aid. 

266.  The  Spiders   crept  up  the  bluff,  went  round  behind  where 
Coyote  sat  cursing  and  scolding,  and  wove  strong  webs  in  the  trees 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  99 

and  bushes.  When  their  work  was  finished  they  told  the  Otters  what 
they  had  done,  and  the  latter  started  to  climb  the  bluff  and  attack 
Coyote.  Conscious  of  his  superior  swiftness,  he  acted  as  if  indiffer- 
ent to  them,  and  allowed  them  to  come  quite  close  before  he  turned 
to  run ;  but  he  did  not  run  far  until  he  was  caught  in  the  webs  of 
the  Spiders.  Then  the  Otters  seized  him  and  dragged  him,  howling, 
to  the  foot  of  the  hill.  He  clung  so  hard  to  the  grasses  and  shrubs 
as  he  passed  that  they  were  torn  out  by  the  roots.  When  the  Otters 
got  him  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill  they  killed  him,  or  seemed  to  kill 
him.  The  Cliff  Swallows  (//ajtmri)  21  flew  down  from  the  walls  of 
the  canyon  and  tore  him  in  pieces;  they  carried  off  the  fragments  to 
their  nests,  leaving  only  a  few  drops  of  blood  on  the  ground  ;  they 
tore  his  skin  into  strips  and  made  of  these  bands  which  they  put 
around  their  heads,  and  this  accounts  for  the  band  which  the  cliff 
swallow  wears  upon  his  brow  to-day. 

267.  It  was  nightfall  when  the  brothers  came  home.     They  saw 
that   Coyote  had  not    yet  returned,  and  they  marvelled  what  had 
become  of  him.     When  they  entered  the  lodge  and  sat  down,  the 
sister  came  and  peeped  in  over  the  portiere,  scanned  the  inside  of 
the  lodge,  and  looked  inquiringly  at  them.     They  did  not  speak  to 
her  until  she  had  done  this  four  times,  then  the  eldest  brother  said  : 
"  Go  back  and  sleep,  and  don't  worry  about  that  worthless  man  of 
yours.     He  is  not  with  us,  and  we  know  not  what  has  become  of 
him.     We  suppose  he  has  gone  into  the  canyon,  where  we  warned 
him  not  to  go,  and  has  been  killed."     She  only  said,  "What  have 
you  done  with  him  ?"  and  went  away  in  anger. 

268.  Before  they  lay  down  to  sleep  they  sent  the  youngest  brother 
out  to  hide  where  he  had  hidden  the  night  before  to  watch  their 
sister,  and  this  is  what  he  saw  :  At   first   she  pretended  to  go  to 
sleep.     After  a  while  she  rose  and  sat  facing  the  east     Then  she 
faced  in  turn  the  south,  the  west,  and  the  north,  moving  sunwise. 
When  this  was  done  she  pulled  out  her  right  eye-tooth,  broke  a 
large  piece  from  one  of  her  four  bone  awls  and  inserted  it  in  the 
place  of  the  tooth,  making  a  great  tusk  where  the  little  tooth  had 
once  been.     As  she  did  this  she  said  aloud  :   "  He  who  shall  here- 
after dream  of  losing  a  right  eye-tooth  shall  lose  a  brother."    After 
this  she  opened  her  mouth  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass  in  the 
order  in  which  she  had  faced  them  before,  tore  out  her  left  eye-tooth 
and  inserted  in  its  place  the  pointed  end  of  another  awl.     As  she 
made  this  tusk  she  said :  "  He  who  dreams  of  losing  his  left  eye- 
tooth  shall  lose  a  sister." 

269.  The  watcher  then  returned  to  his  brothers  and  told  them 
what  he  had  seen  and  heard.     "  Go  back,"  said  they,  "  and  watch 
her  again,  for  you  have  not  seen  all  her  deeds."     When  he  went 


ioo  Navaho  Legends. 

back  he  saw  her  make,  as  she  had  done  before,  two  tusks  in  her 
lower  jaw.  When  she  had  made  that  on  the  right  she  said  :  "He  who 
dreams  of  losing  this  tooth  (right  lower  canine)  shall  lose  a  child ;  " 
and  when  she  made  that  on  the,  left  she  said  :  "  He  who  dreams  of 
losing  this  tooth  (left  lower  canine)  shall  lose  a  parent." 

270.  When  she  first  began  to  pull  out  her  teeth,  hair  began  to 
grow  on  her  hands  ;  as  she  went  on  with  her  mystic  work  the  hair 
spread  up  her  arms   and  her  legs,   leaving  only  her  breasts   bare. 
The  young  man  now  crept  back  to  the  lodge  where  his  brethren 
waited  and  told  them  what  he  had  seen.     "Go  back,"  they  said, 
"and  hide  again.     There  is  more  for  you  to  see." 

271.  When  he  got  back  to  his  hiding-place  the  hair  had  grown 
over  her  breasts,  and  she  was  covered  with  a  coat  of  shaggy  hair 
like  that  of  a  bear.     She  continued  to  move  around  in  the  direction 
of  the  sun's  apparent  course,  pausing  and  opening  her  mouth  at  the 
east,  the  south,  the  west,  and  the  north  as  she  went.     After  a  while 
her  ears  began  to  wag,  her  snout  grew  long,  her  teeth  were  heard  to 
gnash,  her  nails  turned  into  claws.     He  watched  her  until  dawn, 
when,  fearing  he  might  be  discovered,  he  returned  to  his  lodge  and 
told  his  brothers  all  that  had  happened.     They  said  :  "  These  must 
be  the  mysteries  that  Coyote  explained  to  her  the  first  night." 

272.  In  a  moment  after  the  young  man  had  told  his  story  they 
heard  the  whistling  of  a  bear,  and  soon  a  she-bear  rushed  past  the 
door  of  the  lodge,  cracking  the  branches  as  she  went.     She  followed 
the  trail  which  Coyote  had  taken  the  day  before  and  disappeared  in 
the  woods. 

273.  At  night  she  came  back  groaning.     She  had  been   in  the 
fatal  canyon  all  day,  fighting  the  slayers  of  Coyote,  and  she  had  been 
wounded  in  many  places.     Her  brothers  saw  a  light  in  her  hut,  and 
from  time  to  time  one  of  their  number  would  go  and  peep  in  through 
an  aperture  to  observe  what  was  happening  within.     All  night  she 
walked  around  the  fire.     At  intervals  she  would,  by  means  of  her 
magic,  draw  arrow-heads  out  of  her  body  and  heal  the  wounds. 

274.  Next  morning  the  bear-woman  again  rushed  past  the  lodge 
of  her  brethren,  and  again  went  off  toward  the  fatal  canyon.     At 
night  she  returned,   as  before,  groaning  and  bleeding,  and  again 
spent  the  long  night  in  drawing  forth  missiles  and  healing   her 
wounds  by  means  of  her  magic  rites. 

275.  Thus  she   continued  to  do  for  four  days  and  four   nights ; 
but  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  day  she  had  conquered  all  her  enemies ; 
she  had  slain  many,  and  those  she  had  not  killed  she  had  dispersed. 
The  swallows  flew  up  into  the  high  cliffs  to  escape  her  vengeance  ; 
the  otters  hid  themselves  in  the  water ;  the  spiders  retreated  into 
holes  in  the  ground,87  and  in  such  places  these  creatures  have  been 
obliged  to  dwell  ever  since. 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  101 

276.  During   these   four   days,    the   brothers   remained   in    their 
camp  ;  but  at  the  end  of  that  time,  feeling  that  trouble  was  in  store 
for  them,  they  decided  to  go  away.     They  left  the  youngest  brother 
at  home,  and  the  remaining  ten  divided  themselves  into  four  different 
parties ;  one  of  which  travelled  to  the  east,  another  to  the  south, 
another  to  the  west,  and  another  to  the  north. 

277.  When  they  were  gone,  the  Whirlwind,  Ni'yol,  and  the  Knife 
Boy,  Pe^a^ike,  came  to  the  lodge  to  help  the  younger  brother  who 
had  remained  behind.     They  dug  for  him  a  hole  under  the  centre  of 
the  /zo^-an  ;  and  from  this  they  dug  four  branching  tunnels,  running 
east,  south,  west,  and  north,  and  over  the  end  of  each  tunnel  they 
put  a  window  of  gypsum  to  let  in  light  from  above.     They  gave  him 
four  weapons,  —  atsmikli^ka,  the  chain-lightning  arrow  ;  ^atsoiUalka 
(an  old-fashioned  stone  knife  as  big  as  the  open  hand)  ;  natsiliVka, 
the  rainbow  arrow ;  and  /iztsilki'ska,  the  sheet-lightning  arrow.    They 
roofed  his  hiding-place  with  four  flat  stones,  one  white,  one  blue, 
one  yellow,  and  one  black.     They  put  earth  over  all  these,  smooth- 
ing the  earth  and  tramping  it  down  so  that  it  should  look  like  the 
natural  floor  of  the  lodge.     They  gave  him  two  monitors,  Ni'ltn, 
the  Wind,  at  his  right  ear,  to  warn  him  by  day  of  the  approach  of 
danger ;  and  T^a/ye/,  darkness,  at  his  left  ear,  to  warn  him  by  night. 

278.  When  morning  came  and  the  bear-woman  went  forth  she  dis- 
covered that  her  brothers  had  departed.     She  poured  water  on  the 
ground  (h&\\'z)  to  see  which  way  they  had  gone.     The  water  flowed 
to  the  east ;  she  rushed  on  in  that  direction  and  soon  overtook  three 
of  the  fugitives,  whom  she  succeeded  in  killing.     Then  she  went 
back  to  her  hut  to  see  what  had  become  of  her  other  brothers. 
Again  she  poured  water  on  the  level  ground  and  it  flowed  off  to  the 
south  ;  she  followed  in  that  direction  and  soon  overtook  three  others, 
whom  she  likewise  slew.     Returning  to  the  lodge  she  again  per- 
formed her  divination  by  means   of   water.      This    time    she  was 
directed  to  the  west,  and,  going  that  way,  she  overtook  and  killed 
three  more  of  the  men.     Again  she  sought  the  old  camp  and  poured 
on  the  ground  water,  which  flowed  to  the  north  ;  going  on  in  this 
direction  she  encountered  but  one  man,  and  him  she  slew.     Once 
more  she  went  back  to  discover  what  had  become  of  her  last  brother. 
She  poured  water  for  the  fifth  time  on  the  level  ground  ;  it  sank 
directly  into  the.  earth. 

279.  The  brothers  had  always  been  very  successful  hunters  and 
their  home  was  always  well  supplied  with  meat.     In  consequence  of 
this  they  had  had  many  visitors  who  built  in   their  neighborhood 
temporary  shelters,  such  as  the  Navahoes  build  now  when  they  come 
to  remain  only  a  short  time  at  a  place,  and  the  remains  of  these 
shelters  surrounded  the  deserted  hut.     She  scratched  in  all  these 


iO2  Navaho  Legends. 

places  to  find  traces  of  the  fugitive,  without  success,  and  in  doing  so 
she  gradually  approached  the  deserted  hut.  She  scratched  all  around 
outside  the  hut  and  then  went  inside.  She  scratched  around  the 
edge  of  the  hut  and  then  worked  toward  the  centre,  until  at  length 
she  came  to  the  fireplace.  Here  she  found  the  earth  was  soft  as  if 
recently  disturbed,  and  she  dug  rapidly  downward  with  her  paws. 
She  soon  came  to  the  stones,  and,  removing  these,  saw  her  last 
remaining  brother  hidden  beneath  them.  "  I  greet  you,  my  younger 
brother !  Come  up,  I  want  to  see  you,"  she  said  in  a  coaxing  voice. 
Then  she  held  out  one  finger  to  him  and  said  :  "  Grasp  my  finger 
and  I  will  help  you  up."  mit  Wind  told  him  not  to  grasp  her  finger; 
that  if  he  did  she  would  throw  him  upwards,  that  he  would  fall  half 
dead  at  her  feet  and  be  at  her  mercy.  "Get  up  without  her  help," 
whispered  Nfttfi 

280.  He  climbed  out  of  the  hole  on  the  east   side  and  walked 
toward  the  east.     She  ran  toward  him  in  a  threatening  manner,  but 
he  looked  at  her  calmly  and  said  :  "  It  is  I,  your  younger  brother." 
Then  she  approached  him  in  a  coaxing  way,  as  a  dog  approaches  one 
with  whom  he  wishes  to  make  friends,  and  she  led  him  back  toward 
the  deserted  //o^-an.     But  as  he  approached  it  the  Wind  whispered : 
"  We  have  had  sorrow  there,  let  us  not  enter,"  so  he  would  not  go 
in,  and  this  is  the  origin  of  the  custom  now  among  the  Navahoes 
never  to  enter  a  house  in  which  death  had  occurred.91 

281.  "  Come,"  she  then  said,  "  and  sit  with  your  face  to  the  west, 
and  let  me  comb  your  hair."     (It  was  now  late  in  the  afternoon.) 
"  Heed  her  not,"  whispered  Wind ;  "  sit  facing  the  north,  that  you 
watch  her  shadow  and  see  what  she  does.     It  is  thus  that  she  has 
killed  your  brothers."     They  both  sat  down,  she  behind  him,  and 
she  untied  his  queue  and  proceeded  to  arrange  his  hair,  while  he 
watched  her  out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye.     Soon  he  observed  her 
snout  growing  longer  and  approaching  his  head,  and  he  noticed  that 
her  ears  were  wagging.     "  What  does  it  mean  that  your  snout  grows 
longer  and  that  your  ears  move  so  ?  "  he  asked.     She  did  not  reply, 
but  drew  her  snout  in  and  kept  her  ears  still.     When  these  occur- 
rences had  taken  place  for  the  fourth  time,  Wind  whispered  in  his 
ear :  "  Let  not  this  happen  again.     If  she  puts  out  her  snout  the 
fifth  time  she  will  bite  your  head  off.     Yonder,  where  you  see  that 
chattering  squirrel,  are  her  vital  parts.     He  guards  them  for  her. 
Now  run  and  destroy  them."     He  rose  and  ran  toward  the  vital 
parts  and  she  ran  after  him.      Suddenly,  between    them   a   large 
yucca  s8  sprang  up  to  retard  her  steps,  and  then  a  cane  cactus,89  and 
then  another  yucca,  and  then  another  cactus  of  a  different  kind.     She 
ran  faster  than  he,  but  was  so  delayed  in  running  around  the  plants 
that  he  reached  the  vitals  before  her,  and  heard  the  lungs  breathing 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  -     103 

under  the  weeds  that  covered  them.  He  drew  forth  his  chain-light- 
ning arrow,  shot  it  into  the  weeds,  and  saw  a  bright  stream  of  blood 
spurting  up.  At  the  same  instant  the  bear-woman  fell  with  the 
blood  streaming  from  her  side. 

282.  "See!"  whispered  Ni'ltri,  the  Wind,  "the  stream  of  blood 
from  her  body  and  the  stream  from  her  vitals  flow  fast  and  approach 
one  another.    If  they  meet  she  will  revive,  and  then  your  danger  will 
be  greater  than  ever.     Draw,  with  your  stone  knife,  a  rriark  on  the 
ground  between  the  approaching  streams."     The  young  man  did  as 
he  was  bidden,  when  instantly  the  blood  coagulated  and  ceased  to 
flow. 

283.  Then  the  young  man  said :  "  You  shall  live  again,  but  no 
longer  as  the  mischievous  Tnke  S&s  Na/lehi.90     You  shall  live  in 
other  forms,  where  you  may  be  of  service  to  your  kind  and  not  a 
thing  of  evil."    He  cut  off  the  head  and  said  to  it :  "  Let  us  see  if  in 
another  life  you  will  do  better.     When  you  come  to  life  again,  act 
well,  or  again  I  will  slay  you."     He  threw  the  head  at  the  foot  of  a 
pinon-tree  and  it  changed  into  a  bear,  which  started  at  once  to  walk 
off.     But  presently  it  stopped,  shaded  its  eyes  with  one  paw,  and 
looked  back  at  the  man,  saying :  "  You  have  bidden  me  to  act  well ; 
but  what  shall  I  do  if  others  attack  me  ?  "    "Then  you  may  defend 
yourself,"  said  the  young  man  ;  "but  begin  no  quarrel,  and  be  ever 
a  friend  to  your  people,  the  Z)ine'.     Go  yonder  to  Black  Mountain 
(Dsi//Mn)  and  dwell  there."     There  are  now  in  Black  Mountain 
many  bears  which  are  descended  from  this  bear. 

284.  The  hero  cut  off  the  nipples  and  said  to  them  :  "  Had  you 
belonged  to  a  good  woman  and  not  to  a  foolish  witch,  it  might  have 
been  your  luck  to  suckle  men.     You  were  of  no  use  to  your  kind ; 
but  now  I  shall  make  you  of  use  in  another  form."     He  threw  the 
nipples  up  into  a  pinon-tree,  heretofore  fruitless,  and  they  became 
edible  pine  nuts. 

285.  Next   he   sought  the  homes  of  his  friends,  the  holy  ones, 
Niyol  and  Pejarike.     They  led  him  to  the  east,  to  the  south,  to  the 
west,  and  to  the  north,  where  the  corpses  of  his  brothers  lay,  and 
these  they  restored  to  life  for  him.     They  went  back  to  the  place 
where  the  brothers  had  dwelt  before  and  built  a  new  house ;  but 
they  did  not  return  to  the  old  home,  for  that  was  now  a  trf'ndi 

and  accursed.91 

286.  The  holy  ones  then  gave  to  the  young  hero  the  name  of 
Ze"yaneyani,    or   Reared  Under  the  Ground,  because  they  had  hid- 
den him  in  the  earth  when  his  brethren  fled  from  the  wrath  of  his 
sister.     They  bade  him  go  and  dwell  at  a  place  called  A^ahyitsoi 
(Big  Point  on  the  Edge),  which  is  in  the  shape  of  a  7/o^in,  or  Navaho 
hut,  and  here  we  think  he  still  dwells. 


IO4  Navaho  Legends. 

III.     THE   WAR   GODS. 


287.  The   Dm&   now  removed   to   Tse'/akaiia   (White   Standing 
Rock),  where,  a  few  days   after  they  arrived,  they  found  on  the 
ground  a  small  turquoise  image  of  a  woman  ;  this  they  preserved.    Of 
late  the  monsters  (anaye,  alien  gods)  had  been  actively  pursuing  and 
devouring  the  people,  and  at  the  time  this  image  was  found  there 
were  only  four  persons  remaining  alive  ;  92  these  were  an  old  man 
and  woman  and  their  two  children,  a  young  man  and  a  young  woman. 
Two  days  after  the  finding  of  the  image,  early  in  the  morning,  before 
they  rose,   they  heard  the  voice  of  //ast.reyal/i,  the  Talking  God, 
crying  his  call  of  "  Wu'hu'hu'hu  "  so  faint  and  far  that  they  could 
scarcely  hear  it.     After  a  while  the  call  was  repeated  a  second  time, 
nearer  and  louder  than  at  first.     Again,  after  a  brief  silence,  the  call 
was  heard  for  the  third  time,  still  nearer  and  still  louder.    The  fourth 
call  was  loud  and  clear,  as  if  sounded  near  at  hand  ;  ^  as  soon  as 
it  ceased,  the  shuffling  tread  of  moccasined  feet  was  heard,  and  a 
moment  later  the  god  //ast^eyal/i  stood  before  them. 

288.  He  told  the  four  people  to  come  up  to  the  top  of  T^olihi  after 
twelve  nights  had  passed,  bringing  with  them  the  turquoise  image 
they  had  found,  and  at  once  he  departed.     They  pondered  deeply  on 
his  word,s,  and  every  day  they  talked  among  themselves,  wondering 
why  //astyeyaM  had  summoned  them  to  the  mountain. 

289.  On  the  morning  of  the  appointed  day  they  ascended  the 
mountain  by  a  holy  trail,93  and  on  a  level  spot,  near  the  summit,  they 
met  a  party  that  awaited  them  there.    They  found  there  //astreyaki, 
//asUe/^o^an  (the  Home  God),  White  Body  (who  came  up  from  the 
lower  world  with  the  .Dine*),  the  eleven  brothers   (of  Maid  Who 
Becomes  a  Bear),  the    Mirage  Stone  People,   the  Daylight  People 
standing  in  the  east,  the  Blue  Sky  People  standing  in  the  south,  the 
Yellow  Light  People  standing  in  the  west,  and  the  Darkness  People 
standing  in  the  north.     White  Body  stood  in  the  east  among  the 
Daylight  People,  bearing  in  his  hand  a  small  image  of  a  woman 
wrought  in  white  shell,  about  the  same  size  and  shape  as  the  blue 
image  which  the  Navahoes  bore. 

290.  //ast^eyal/i  laid  down  a  sacred  buckskin  with  its  head  toward 
the  west.     The  Mirage  Stone  People  laid  on  the  buckskin,  heads 
west,  the  two  little  images,  —  of  turquoise  and  white  shell,  —  a  white 
and  a  yellow  ear  of  corn,   the  Pollen  Boy,  and  the  Grasshopper 
Girl.     On  top  of  all  these  //astreyal/i  laid  another  sacred  buckskin 
with  its  head  to  the  east,  and  under   this   they   now   put    Ni'ltei 
(Wind). 

291.  Then  the  assembled  crowd  stood  so  as  to  form  a  circle,  leaving 
in  the  east  an  opening  through  which  //astreyal/i  and 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  105 


might  pass  in  and  out,  and  they  sang  the  sacred  song  of 
Four  times  the  gods  entered  and  raised  the  cover.  When  they 
raised  it  for  the  fourth  time,  the  images  and  the  ears  of  corn  were 
found  changed  to  living  beings  in  human  form  :  the  turquoise  image 
had  become  Estsanatlehi,  the  Woman  Who  Changes  (or  rejuvenates 
herself)  ;  the  white  shell  image  had  become  Yo/kai  Estsan,  the 
White  Shell  Woman  ;  the  white  ear  of  corn  had  become  Na/a/kai 
Arike  ;  the  White  Corn  Boy  and  the  yellow  ear  of  corn,  Na/a/tsoi 
A/eV,  the  Yellow  Corn  Girl.94  After  the  ceremony,  White  Body 
took  Pollen  Boy,  Grasshopper  Girl,  White  Corn  Boy,  and  Yellow 
Corn  Girl  with  him  into  T^olihi  ;  the  rest  of  the  assembly  departed, 
and  the  two  divine  sisters,  Estsanatlehi  95  and  Yo/kai  Estsan,96  were 
left  on  the  mountain  alone. 

292.  The  women  remained  here  four  nights  ;  on  the  fourth  morn- 
ing Estsanatlehi   said  :    "  5ite^i   (younger  sister),  why  should  we 
remain  here  ?     Let  us  go  to  yonder  high  point  and  look  around  us." 
They  went  to  the  highest  point  of  the  mountain,  and  when  they  had 
been  there  several  days  Estsanatlehi  said  :   "  It  is  lonely  here  ;  we 
have  no  one  to  speak  to  but  ourselves  ;  we  see  nothing  but  that 
which  rolls  over  our  heads  (the  sun),  and  that  which  drops  below  us 
(a  small  dripping  waterfall).    I  wonder  if  they  can  be  people.   I  shall 
stay  here  and  wait  for  the  one  in  the  morning,  while  you  go  down 
among  the  rocks  and  seek  the  other." 

293.  In  the  morning  Estsanatlehi  found  a  bare,  flat  rock  and  lay 
on  it  with  her  feet  to  the  east,  and  the  rising  sun  shone  upon  her. 
Yo/kai  Estsan  went  down  where  the  dripping  waters  descended  and 
allowed  them  to  fall  upon  her.      At  noon  the  women  met  again  on 
the  mountain  top  and  Estsanatlehi  said  to  her  sister  :  "  It  is  sad  to 
be  so  lonesome.     How  can  we  make  people  so  that  we  may  have 
others  of  our  kind  to  talk  to  ?  "    Yo/kai  Estsan  answered  :  "  Think, 
Elder  Sister  ;  perhaps  after  some  days  you  may  plan  how  this  is  to 
be  done." 

294.  Four  days  after  this  conversation  Yo/kai  Estsan  said  :  "Elder 
Sister,  I  feel  something  strange  moving  within  me  ;  what  can  it  be  ?  " 
and  Estsanatlehi  answered  :  "  It  is  a  child.     It  was  for  this  that  you 
lay  under  the  waterfall.     I  feel,  too,  the  motions  of  a  child  within 
me.     It  was  for  this  that  I  let  the  sun  shine  upon  me."     Soon  after 
the  voice  of  //asUeyaM  was  heard  four  times,  as  usual,  and  after  the 
last  call  he  and   76'nenili98  appeared.     They  came  to  prepare  the 
women  for  their  approaching  delivery.99 

295.  In  four  days  more  they  felt  the  commencing  throes  of  labor, 
and  one  said  to  the  other  :  "  I  think  my  child  is  coming."     She  had 
scarcely  spoken  when  the  voice  of  the  approaching  god  was  heard, 
and  soon  //asUeyal/i  and   To'nemli  (Water  Sprinkler)  were  seen 


io6  Navaho  Legends. 

approaching.  The  former  was  the  accoucheur  of  Estsanatlehi,  and 
the  latter  of  Yo/kai  Estsan.100  To  one  woman  a  drag-rope  of  rain- 
bow was  given,  to  the  other  a  drag-rope  of  sunbeam,  and  on  these 
they  pulled  when  in  pain,  as  the  Navaho  woman  now  pulls  on  the 
rope.  Estsanatlehi's  child  was  born  first.101  //asUeyaM  took  it 
aside  and  washed  it.  He  was  glad,  and  laughed  and  made  iron- 
ical motions,  as  if  he  were  cutting  the  baby  in  slices  and  throwing 
the  slices  away.  They  made  for  the  children  two  baby-baskets, 
both  alike ;  the  foot-rests  and  the  back  battens  were  made  of  sun- 
beam, the  hoods  of  rainbow,  the  side-strings  of  sheet  lightning, 
and  the  lacing  strings  of  zigzag  lightning.  One  child  they  covered 
with  the  black  cloud,  and  the  other  with  the  female  rain.102  They 
called  the  children  Smali  (grandchildren),  and  they  left,  promising 
to  return  at  the  end  of  four  days. 

296.  When  the  gods  (yei)  returned  at  the  end  of  four  days,  the 
boys  had  grown  to  be  the  size  of  ordinary  boys  of  twelve  years  of 
age.     The  gods  said  to  them  :  "  Boys,  we  have  come  to  have  a  race 
with  you."     So  a  race  was  arranged  that  should  go  all  around  a 
neighboring  mountain,  and  the  four  started,  —  two  boys  and  two 
yei.     Before  the  long  race  was  half  done  the  boys,  who  ran  fast, 
began  to  flag,  and  the  gods,  who  were  still  fresh,  got  behind  them 
and    scourged    the    lads    with    twigs    of    mountain    mahogany.103 
//ast.reyal/i  won  the  race,  and  the  boys  came  home  rubbing  their 
sore  backs.     When  the  gods  left  they  promised  to  return  at  the  end 
of  another  period  of  four  days. 

297.  As  soon  as  the  gods  were  gone,  Ni'ltri,  the  Wind,  whispered 
to  the  boys  and  told  them  that  the  old  ones  were  not  such  fast  run- 
ners, after  all,  and  that  if  the  boys  would  practice  during  the  next 
four  days  they  might  win  the  coming  race.     So  for  four  days  they 
ran  hard,  many  times  daily  around  the  neighboring  mountain,  and 
when  the  gods  came  back  again  the  youths  had  grown  to  the  full 
stature  of  manhood.     In  the  second  contest  the  gods  began  to  flag 
and  fall  behind  when  half  way  round  the  mountain,  where  the  others 
had  fallen  behind  in  the  first  race,  and  here  the  boys  got  behind 
their  elders  and  scourged  the  latter  to  increase  their  speed.     The 
elder  of  the  boys  won  this  race,  and  when  it  was  over  the  gods 
laughed  and  clapped  their  hands,  for  they  were  pleased  with  the 
spirit  and  prowess  they  witnessed. 

298.  The  night  after  the  race  the  boys  lay  down  as  usual  to  sleep  ; 
but  hearing  the  women  whispering  together,  they  lay  awake  and 
listened.    They  strained  their  attention,  but  could  not  hear  a  word 
of  what  was  uttered.     At  length  they  rose,  approached  the  women, 
and   said :  "  Mothers,   of   what  do   you   speak  ? "    and   the   women 
answered  :  "  We  speak  of  nothing."     The  boys  then  said  :  "  Grand- 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  107 

mothers,  of  what  do  you  speak?"  but  the  women  again  replied: 
"We  speak  of  nothing."  The  boys  then  questioned  :  "Who  are  our 
fathers  ?  "  "  You  have  no  fathers,"  responded  the  women  ;  "  you  are 
yutaAi  (illegitimate)."  "  Who  are  our  fathers  ?  "  again  demanded  the 
boys,  and  the  women  answered :  "  The  round  cactus  and  the  sitting 
cactus  104  are  your  fathers." 

299.  Next  day  the  women  made  rude  bows  of  juniper  wood,  and 
arrows,  such  as  children  play  with,  and  they  said  to  the  boys :  "  Go 
and  play  around  with  these,  but  do  not  go  out  of  sight  from  our  hut, 
and  do  not  go  to  the  east."    Notwithstanding  these  warnings  the  boys 
went  to  the  east  the  first  day,  and  when  they  had  travelled  a  good 
distance  they  saw  an  animal  with  brownish  hair  and  a  sharp  nose. 
They  drew  their  arrows  and  pointed  them  toward  the  sharp-nosed 
stranger;  but  before  they  could  shoot  he  jumped  down  into  a  canyon 
and  disappeared.    When  they  returned  home  they  told  the  women  — 
addressing   them  as  "Mother"  and  "Grandmother"  —  what  they 
had  seen.     The  women  said  :  "  That  is  Coyote  which  you  saw.     He 
is  a  spy  for  the  anaye  TeelgeV." 

300.  On  the  following  day,  although  again  strictly  warned  not  to 
go  far  from  the  lodge,  the  boys  wandered  far  to  the  south,  and  there 
they  saw  a  great  black  bird  seated  on  a  tree.     They  aimed  their 
arrows  at  it ;  but  just  as  they  were  about  to  shoot  the  bird  rose  and 
flew  away.    The  boys  returned  to  the  7/o^-an  and  said  to  the  women : 
"  Mothers,  we  have  been  to  the  south  to-day,  and  there  we  saw  a 
great  black  bird  which  we  tried  to  shoot ;  but  before  we  could  let 
loose  our  arrows  it  flew  off.    "Alas  !"  said  the  women.    "This  was 
Raven  that  you  saw.     He  is  the  spy  of  the  Tse'na'hale,  the  great 
winged  creatures  that  devour  men." 

301.  On  the  third  day  the  boys  slipped  off  unknown  to  the  anx- 
ious women,  who  would  fain  keep  them  at  home,  and  walked  a  long 
way  toward  the  west.     The  only  living  thing  they  saw  was  a  great 
dark  bird  with  a  red  skinny  head  that  had  no  feathers  on  it.     This 
bird  they  tried  to  shoot  also ;  but  before  they  could  do  so  it  spread 
its  wings  and  flew  a  long  way  off.     They  went  home  and  said  to  the 
women  :  "  Mothers,  we  have  been  to  the  west,  and  we  have  seen  a 
great  dark  bird  whose  head  was  red  and  bare.     We  tried  to  shoot  it, 
but  it  flew  away  before  we  could  discharge  our  arrows."     "It  was 
D^eso,  the  Buzzard,  that  you  saw,"  said  the  women.     "  He  is  the 
spy  for  Tse7a//otril/a'/i,  he  who  kicks  men  down  the  cliffs." 

302.  On  the  fourth  day  the  boys  stole  off  as  usual,  and  went 
toward  the  north.     When  they  had  travelled  a  long  way  in  that 
direction,  they  saw  a  bird  of  black  plumage  perched  on  a  tree  on  the 
edge  of  a  canyon.     It  was  talking  to  itself,  saying  "a'a'K"     They 
aimed  at  it,  but  before  they  could  let  fly  their  arrows  it  spread  its 


io8  Navaho  Legends. 

wings  and  tail  and  disappeared  down  the  canyon.  As  it  flew,  the 
boys  noticed  that  its  plumes  were  edged  with  white.  When  they 
got  home  they  told  their  mothers,  as  before,  what  they  had  seen. 
"  This  bird  that  you  saw,"  said  the  women,  "  is  the  Magpie.  He  is 
the  spy  for  the  Binaye  A/zani,  who  slay  people  with  their  eyes.  Alas, 
our  children  !  What  shall  we  do  to  make  you  hear  us  ?  What  shall 
we  do  to  save  you  ?  You  would  not  listen  to  us.  Now  the  spies  of 
the  anaye  (the  alien  gods)  in  all  quarters  of  the  world  have  seen  you. 
They  will  tell  their  chiefs,  and  soon  the  monsters  will  come  here  to 
devour  you,  as  they  have  devoured  all  your  kind  before  you." 

303.  The  next  morning  the  women  made  a  corncake  and  laid  it 
on  the  ashes  to  bake.     Then  Yo/kai  Estsan  went  out  of  the  /fo^an, 
and,  as  she  did  so,  she  saw  Yeitso,105  the  tallest  and  fiercest  of  the 
alien  gods,  approaching.     She  ran  quickly  back  and  gave  the  warn- 
ing, and  the  women  hid  the  boys  under  bundles  and  sticks.     Yeitso 
came  and  sat  down  at  the  door,  just  as  the  women  were  taking  the 
cake  out  of  the  ashes.     "  That  cake  is  for  me,"  said  Yeitso.     "  How 
nice  it  smells!"    "No,"  said  Estsanatlehi,  "it  was  not  meant  for 
your  great  maw."    "  I  don't  care,"  said  Yeitso.     "  I  would  rather  eat 
boys.    Where  are  your  boys  ?    I  have  been  told  you  have  some  here, 
and  I  have  come  to  get  them."    "  We  have  none,"  said  Estsanatlehi. 
"All  the  boys  have  gone  into  the  paunches  of  your  people  long 
ago."     "  No  boys  ?"  said  the  giant.     "What,  then,  has  made  all  the 
tracks  around  here  ? "     "  Oh  !  these  tracks  I  have  made  for  fun," 
replied  the  woman.     "  I  am  lonely  here,  and  I  make  tracks  so  that 
I  may  fancy  there  are  many  people  around  me."    She  showed  Yeitso 
how  she  could  make  similar  tracks  with  her  fist.     He  compared  the 
two  sets  of  tracks,  seemed  to  be  satisfied,  and  went  away. 

304.  When  he  was  gone,  Yo/kai  Estsan,  the  White  Shell  Woman, 
went  up  to  the  top  of  a  neighboring  hill  to  look  around,  and  she 
beheld  many  of  the  anaye  hastening  in  the  direction  of  her  lodge. 
She  returned  speedily,  and  told  her  sister  what  she  had  seen.     Estsa- 
natlehi took  four  colored  hoops,  and  threw  one  toward  each  of  the 
cardinal  points,  —  a  white  one  to  the  east,  a  blue  one  to  the  south,  a 
yellow  one  to  the  west,  and  a  black  one  to  the  north.     At  once  a 
great  gale  arose,  blowing  so  fiercely  in  all  directions  from  the  kogzn 
that  none  of  the  enemies  could  advance  against  it. 

305.  Next  morning  the  boys  got  up  before  daybreak  and  stole 
away.     Soon  the  women  missed  them,  but  could  not  trace -them  in 
the  dark.     When  it  was  light  enough  to  examine  the  ground  the 
women  went  out  to  look  for  fresh  tracks.     They  found  four  footprints 
of  each  of  the  boys,  pointing  in  the  direction  of  the  mountain  of 
DsT/nao/i/,  but  more  than  four  tracks  they  could  not  find.     They 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  boys  had  taken  a  holy  trail,  so  they 
gave  up  further  search  and  returned  to  the  lodge. 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  109 

306.  The  boys  travelled  rapidly  in  the  holy  trail,93  and  soon  after 
sunrise,  near  Dsi/nao^i/,  they  saw  smoke  arising  from  the  ground. 
They  went  to  the  place  where  the  smoke  rose,  and  they  found  it 
came  from  the  smoke-hole  of  a  subterranean  chamber.     A  ladder, 
black  from  smoke,  projected  through  the  hole.     Looking  down  into 
the  chamber  they  saw  an  old  woman,  the  Spider  Woman,106  who 
glanced  up  at  them  and  said  :  "  Welcome,  children.    Enter.    Who  are 
you,  and  whence  do  you  two  come  together  walking  ? "     They  made 
no  answer,  but  descended  the  ladder.     When  they  reached  the  floor 
she  again  spoke  to  them,  asking  :  "Whither  do  you  two  go  walking 
together?"     "Nowhere  in  particular,"  they  answered;   "we  came 
here  because  we  had  nowhere  else  to  go."     She  asked  this  question 
four  times,  and  each  time  she  received  a  similar  answer.     Then  she 
said  :   "  Perhaps  you  would  seek   your  father  ? "     "  Yes,"  they  an- 
swered, "if  we  only  knew  the  way  to  his  dwelling."     "Ah!"  said 
the  woman,  "it  is  a  long  and  dangerous  way  to  the  house  of  your 
father,  the  Sun.     There  are  many  of  the  anaye  dwelling  between 
here  and  there,  and  perhaps,  when  you  get  there,  your  father  may 
not  be  glad  to  see  you,  and  may  punish  you  for  coming.     You  must 
pass  four  places  of  danger,  • —  the  rocks  that  crush  the  traveller,  the 
reeds  that  cut  him  to  pieces,  the  cane  cactuses  that  tear  him  to 
pieces,  and  the  boiling  sands  that   overwhelm    him.      But  I  shall 
give  you  something  to   subdue  your   enemies   and  preserve   your 
lives."     She  gave  them  a  charm  called  nayeatsos,  or  feather  of  the 
alien  gods,  which  consisted  of  a  hoop  with  two  life-feathers  (feathers 
plucked  from  a  living  eagle)  attached,  and  another  life-feather,  hyma 
biltsos,107  to  preserve  their  existence.     She  taught  them  also  this 
magic  formula,  which,  if  repeated  to  their  enemies,  would  subdue 
their  anger :  "  Put  your  feet  down  with  pollen.108     Put  your  hands 
down  with  pollen.     Put  your  head  down  with  pollen.     Then  your 
feet  are  pollen  ;  your  hands  are  pollen  ;  your  body  is  pollen  ;  your 
mind  is  pollen  ;  your  voice  is  pollen.     The  trail  is  beautiful  (bike 
>&o*6ni).     Be  still."  109 

307.  Soon  after  leaving  the  house  of   Spider  Woman,  the  boys 
came  to  Tse'yeinti'li  (the  rocks  that  crush).     There  was  here  a  nar- 
row chasm  between  two  high  cliffs.     When  a  traveller  approached, 
the  rocks  would  open  wide  apart,  apparently  to  give  him  easy  pas- 
sage and  invite  him  to  enter  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  was  within  the  cleft 
they  would  close  like  hands  clapping  and  crush  him  to  death.    These 
rocks  were  really  people  ;  they  thought  like  men  ;  they  were  andye. 
When  the  boys  got  to  the  rocks  they  lifted  their  feet  as  if  about  to 
enter  the  chasm,  and  the  rocks  opened  to  let  them  in.     Then  the 
boys  put  down  their  feet,  but  withdrew  them  quickly.     The  rocks 
closed  with  a  snap  to  crush  them  ;  but  the  boys  remained  safe  on 


1 10  Navaho  Legends. 

the  outside.  Thus  four  times  did  they  deceive  the  rocks.  When 
they  had  closed  for  the  fourth  time  the  rocks  said  :  "  Who  are  ye ; 
whence  come  ye  two  together,  and  whither  go  ye  ? "  "We  are  chil- 
dren of  the  Sun,"  answered  the  boys.  "  We  come  from  Dsi/naotf/, 
and  we  go  to  seek  the  house  of  our  father."  Then  they  repeated  the 
words  the  Spider  Woman  had  taught  them,  and  the  rocks  said  : 
"  Pass  on  to  the  house  of  your  father."  When  next  they  ventured 
to  step  into  the  chasm  the  rocks  did  not  close,  and  they  passed 
safely  on. 

308.  The  boys  kept  on  their  way  and  soon  came  to  a  great  plain 
covered  with  reeds  that  had  great  leaves  on  them  as  sharp  as  knives. 
When  the  boys  came  to  the  edge  of  the  field  of  reeds  (Zokaadikm), 
the  latter  opened,  showing  a  clear  passage  through  to  the  other  side. 
The  boys  pretended  to  enter,  but  retreated,  and  as  they  did  so  the 
walls  of  reeds  rushed  together  to  kill  them.     Thus  four  times  did 
they  deceive  the  reeds.     Then  the  reeds  spoke  to  them,  as  the  rocks 
had  done;  they  answered  and  repeated  the  sacred  words.     "Pass 
on  to  the  house  of  your  father,"  said  the  reeds,  and  the  boys  passed 
on  in  safety. 

309.  The  next  danger  they  encountered  was  in  the  country  covered 
with  cane  cactuses.89     These  cactuses  rushed  at  and  tore  to  pieces 
whoever  attempted  to  pass  through  them.     When  the  boys  came  to 
the  cactuses  the  latter  opened  their  ranks  to  let  the  travellers  pass 
on,  as  the  reeds  had  done  before.     But  the  boys  deceived  them  as 
they  had  deceived  the  reeds,  and  subdued  them  as  they  had  subdued 
the  reeds,  and  passed  on  in  safety. 

310.  After  they  had  passed  the  country  of  the  cactus  they  came, 
in  time,  to  Saitad,  the  land  of  the  rising  sands.     Here  was  a  great 
desert  of  sands  that  rose  and  whirled  and  boiled  like  water  in  a  pot, 
and  overwhelmed  the  traveller  who  ventured  among  them.     As  the 
boys  approached,  the  sands  became  still  more  agitated  and  the  boys 
did  not  dare  venture  among  them.     "Who  are  ye  ?  "  said  the  sands, 
"  and  whence  come  ye  ?  "     "  We  are  children  of  the  Sun,  we  came 
from  Dsi/nao/i/,  and  we  go  to  seek  the  house  of  our  father."     These 
words  were  four  times  said.     Then  the  elder  of  the  boys  repeated 
his  sacred  formula ;  the  sands  subsided,  saying :  "  Pass  on  to  the 
house  of  your  father,"  and  the  boys  continued  on  their  journey  over 
the  desert  of  sands.110 

311.  Soon  after  this  adventure  they  approached  the  house  of  the 
Sun.     As  they  came  near  the  door  they  found  the  way  guarded  by 
two  bears  that  crouched,  one  to  the  right  and  one  to  the  left,  their 
noses  pointing  toward  one  another.     As  the  boys  drew  near,  the 
bears  rose,  growled  angrily,   and  acted  as   if  about  to   attack  the 
intruders  ;  but  the  elder  boy  repeated  the  sacred  words  the  Spider 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  1 1 1 

Woman  had  taught  him,  and  when  he  came  to  the  last  words,  "  Be 
still,"  the  bears  crouched  down  again  and  lay  still.  The  boys  walked 
on.  After  passing  the  bears  they  encountered  a  pair  of  sentinel 
serpents,  then  a  pair  of  sentinel  winds,  and,  lastly,  a  pair  of  sentinel 
lightnings.  As  the  boys  advanced,  all  these  guardians  acted  as  if 
they  would  destroy  them  ;  but  all  were  appeased  with  the  words  of 
prayer.111 

312.  The  house  of  the  Sun  God  was  built  of  turquoise;  it  was 
square  like  a  pueblo  house,  and  stood  on  the  shore  of  a  great  water. 
When  the  boys  entered  they  saw,  sitting  in  the  west,  a  woman  ; 
in  the  south,  two  handsome  young  men;112  and  in  the  north,  two 
handsome  young  women.    The  women  gave  a  glance  at  the  strangers 
and  then  looked  down. .  The  young  men  gazed  at  them  more  closely, 
and  then,  without  speaking,  they  rose,  wrapped  the  strangers  in  four 
coverings  of  the  sky,  and  laid  them  on  a  shelf.113 

313.  The  boys  had  lain  there  quietly  for  some  time  when  a  rattle 
that  hung  over  the  door  shook  and  one  of  the  young  women  said : 
"Our  father  is  coming."      The  rattle  shook  four  times,  and  soon 
after  it  shook  the  fourth  time,  T^ohanoai,  the    bearer  of  the  sun, 
entered  his  house.     He  took  the  sun  off  his  back  and  hung  it  up  on 
a  peg  on  the  west  wall  of  the  room,  where  it  shook  and  clanged  for 
some  time,  going  "tla,  tla,  tla,  tla,"  till  at  last  it  hung  still. 

314.  Then  T^ohanoai  turned  to  the  woman  and  said,  in  an  angry 
tone  :  "  Who  are  those  two  who  entered  here  to-day  ?  "     The  woman 
made  no  answer  and  the  young  people  looked  at  one  another,  but 
each  feared  to  speak.     Four  times  he  asked  this  question,  and  at 
length  the  woman  said :  "  It  would  be  well  for  you  not  to  say  too 
much.     Two  young  men  came  hither  to-day,  seeking  their  father. 
When  you  go  abroad,  you  always  tell  me  that  you  visit 'nowhere,  and 
that  you  have  met  no  woman  but  me.    Whose  sons,  then,  are  these  ?  " 
She  pointed  to  the  bundle  on  the  shelf,  and  the  children  smiled  sig- 
nificantly at  one  another. 

315.  He  took  the  bundle  from  the  shelf.     He  first  unrolled  the 
robe  of  dawn  with  which  they  were  covered,  then  the  robe  of  blue 
sky,  next  the  robe  of  yellow  evening  light,  and  lastly  the  robe  of 
darkness.    When  he  unrolled  this  the  boys  fell  out  on  the  floor.    He 
seized  them,  and  threw  them  first  upon  great,  sharp  spikes  of  white 
shell  that  stood  in  the  east ;  but  they  bounded  back,  unhurt,  from 
these  spikes,  for  they  held  their  life-feathers  tightly  all  the  while. 
He  then  threw  them  in  turn  on  spikes  of  turquoise  in  the  south,  on 
spikes  of  haliotis  in  the  west,  and  spikes  of  black  rock  in  the  north  ; 
but  they  came  uninjured  from  all  these  trials  and  T^ohanoai  said: 
"  I  wish  it  were  indeed  true  that  they  were  my  children." 

316.  He  said  then  to  the  elder  children, — those  who  lived  with 


1 1 2  Navaho  Legends. 

him,  —  "  Go  out  and  prepare  the  sweat-house  and  heat  for  it  four  of 
the  hardest  boulders  you  can  find.  Heat  a  white,  a  blue,  a  yellow, 
and  a  black  boulder."  When  the  Winds  heard  this  they  said  :  "  He 
still  seeks  to  kill  his  children.  How  shall  we  avert  the  danger?" 
The  sweat-house  was  built  against  a  bank.  Wind  dug  into  the  bank 
a  hole  behind  the  sudatory,  and  concealed  the  opening  with  a  flat 
stone.  Wind  then  whispered  into  the  ears  of  the  boys  the  secret  of 
the  hole  and  said  :  "  Do  not  hide  in  the  hole  until  you  have  answered 
the  questions  of  your  father."  The  boys  went  into  the  sweat-house, 
the  great  hot  boulders  were  put  in,  and  the  opening  of  the  lodge  was 
covered  with  the  four  sky-blankets.  Then  T^ohanoai  called  out  to 
the  boys:  "  Are  you  hot?"  and  they  answered  :  "  Yes,  very  hot." 
Then  they  crept  into  the  hiding-place  and  lay  there.  After  a  while 
T^ohanoai  came  and  poured  water  through  the  top  of  the  sweat- 
house  on  the  stones,  making  them  burst  with  a  loud  noise,  and  a 
great  heat  and  steam  was  raised.  But  in  time  the  stones  cooled 
and  the  boys  crept  out  of  their  hiding-place  into  the  sweat-house. 
T^ohanoai  came  and  asked  again :  "Are  you  hot  ? "  hoping  to  get  no 
reply  ;  but  the  boys  still  answered  :  "  Yes,  very  hot."  Then  he  took 
the  coverings  off  the  sweat-house  and  let  the  boys  come  out.  He 
greeted  them  in  a  friendly  way  and  said :  "  Yes,  these  are  my  chil- 
dren," and  yet  he  was  thinking  of  other  ways  by  which  he  might 
destroy  them  if  they  were  not. 

317.  The  fouf  sky-blankets  were  spread  on  the  ground  one  over 
another,  and  the  four  young  men  were  made  to  sit  on  them,  one 
behind  another,  facing  the  east.     "My  daughters,  make  these  boys 
to  look  like  my  other  sons,"  said  T^ohanoai.     The  young  women 
went  to  the  strangers,  pulled  their  hair  out  long,  and  moulded  their 
faces  and  forms  so  that  they  looked  just  like  their  brethren.    Then 
Sun  bade  them  all  rise  and  enter  the  house.     They  rose  and  all  went, 
in  a  procession,  the  two  strangers  last. 

318.  As  they  were  about  to  enter  the   door  they  heard  a  voice 
whispering  in  their  ears  :  "St !  Look  at  the  ground."     They  looked 
down  and  beheld  a  spiny  caterpillar  called  Wasekede,  who,  as  they 
looked,   spat  out  two  blue  spits  on  the   ground.      "  Take  each  of 
you  one  of  these,"  said  Wind,  "and  put  it  in  your  mouth,  but  do  not 
swallow  it.     There  is  one  more  trial  for  you,  — a  trial  by  smoking." 
When  they  entered  the  house  T^ohanoai  took  down  a  pipe  of  tur- 
quoise that  hung  on  the  eastern  wall  and  filled  it  with  tobacco.    "  This 
is  the  tobacco  he  kills  with,"  whispered  Ni'ltsi  to  the  boys.   T^ohanoai 
held  the  pipe  up  to  the  sun  that  hung  on  the  wall,  lit  it,  and  gave  it 
to  the  boys  to  smoke.     They  smoked  it,  and  passed  it  from  one  to 
another  till  it  was  finished.    They  said  it  tasted  sweet,  but  it  did  them 
no  harm. 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  113 

319.  When  the  pipe  was  smoked  out  and  T^ohanoai  saw  the  boys 
were  not  killed  by  it,  he  was  satisfied  and  said  :  "  Now,  my  children, 
what  do  you  want  from  me  ?   Why  do  you  seek  me  ?"    "Oh,  father!" 
they  replied,  "the  land  where  we  dwell  is  filled  with  the  anaye,  who 
devour  the  people.     There  are  Yeitso  and  Teelge/,  the  Tse'nahale,    - 
the  Bmaye  A//ani,  and  many  others.     They  have  eaten  nearly  all  of 
our  kind  ;  there  are  few  left ;  already  they  have  sought  our  lives, 
and  we  have  run  away  to  escape  them.     Give  us,  we  beg,  the  wea- 
pons with  which  we  may  slay  our  enemies.     Help  us  to  destroy 
them." 

320.  "  Know,"  said  T^ohanoai,  "  that  Yeitso  who  dwells  at  Tso- 
tsi/  is  also  my  son,  yet  I  will  help  you  to  kill  him.    I  shall  hurl  the  first 
bolt  at  him,  and  I  will  give  you  those  things  that  will  help  you  in 
war."     He  took  from  pegs  where  they  hung  around  the  room  and 
gave  to   each  a  hat,  a  shirt,  leggings,  moccasins,  all  made  of  pes 
(iron  or  knives),114  a  chain-lightning  arrow,  a  sheet-lightning  arrow, 
a  sunbeam  arrow,  a  rainbow  arrow,  and  a  great  stone  knife  or  knife 
club  (pe^//al).115     "  These  are  what  we  want,"  said  the  boys.     They 
put  on  the  clothes  of  pes,  and  streaks  of  lightning  shot  from  every 
joint.116 

321.  Next  morning  T^ohanoai  led  the  boys  out  to  the  edge  of  the 
world,  where  the  sky  and  the  earth  came  close  together,  and  beyond 
which  there  was  no  world.     Here  sixteen  wands  or  poles  leaned 
from  the  earth  to  the  sky ;  four  of  these  were  of  white  shell,  four  of 
turquoise,  four  of  haliotis  shell,  and  four  of  red  stone.117     A  deep 
stream  flowed  between  them  and  the  wands.     As  they  approached 
the  stream,  Ni'ltri,  the  Wind,  whispered:  "This  is  another  trial;" 
but  he  blew  a  great  breath  and  formed  a  bridge  of  rainbow,86'  over 
which  the  brothers  passed  in  safety.    Ni'ltri  whispered  again  :  "  The 
red  wands  are  for  war,  the  others  are  for  peace  ;  "  so  when  T^ohanoai 
asked  his  sons  :  "  On  which  wands  will  ye  ascend  ? "  they  answered  : 
"On  the  wands  of  red  stone,"  for  they  sought  war  with  their  ene- 
mies.    They  climbed  up  to  the  sky  on  the  wands  of  red  stone,  and 
their  father  went  with  them.118 

322.  They  journeyed  on  till  they  came  to  Yaga/zoka,  the  sky-hole, 
which  is  in  the  centre  of  the  sky.119     The  hole  is  edged  with  four 
smooth,  shining  cliffs  that  slope  steeply  downwards,  —  cliffs  of  the 
same  materials   as  the  wands  by  which  they  had  climbed  from  the 
earth  to  the  sky.    They  sat  down  on  the  smooth  declivities,  —  T^oha- 
noai  on  the  west  side  of  the  hole,  the  brothers  on  the  east  side. 
The  latter  would  have  slipped  down  had  not  the  Wind  blown  up  and 
helped  them  to  hold  on.    T^ohanaoi  pointed  down  and  said  :  "Where 
do  you  belong  in  the  world  below  ?    Show  me  your  home."     The 
brothers  looked  down  and  scanned  the  land ;  but  they  could  distin- 


ii4  Navaho  Legends. 

guish  nothing ;  all  the  land  seemed  flat ;  the  wooded  mountains 
looked  like  dark  spots  on  the  surface ;  the  lakes  gleamed  like  stars, 
and  the  rivers  like  streaks  of  lightning.  The  elder  brother  said  :  "  I 
do  not  recognize  the  land,  I  know  not  where  our  home  is."  Now 
Ni'lUi  prompted  the  younger  brother,  and  showed  him  which  were 
the  sacred  mountains  and  which  the  great  rivers,  and  the  younger 
exclaimed,  pointing  downwards  :  "  There  is  the  Male  Water  (San 
Juan  River),  and  there  is  the  Female  Water  (Rio  Grande) ;  yonder  is 
the  mountain  of  TjTniacLsl'ni  ;  below  us  is  TsotsT/ ;  there  in  the  west 
is  Z?okoshV ;  that  white  spot  beyond  the  Male  Water  is  Z>epe'ntsa  ; 
and  there  between  these  mountains  is  Dsi/nao/i/,  near  which  our 
home  is."  "  You  are  right,  my  child,  it  is  thus  that  the  land  lies," 
said  T^dhanoai.  Then,  renewing  his  promises,  he  spread  a  streak  of 
lightning  ;  he  made  his  children  stand  on  it,  —  one  on  each  end,  — 
and  he  shot  them  down  to  the  top  of  Tsotsi/  (Mt.  San  Mateo,  Mt. 
Taylor). 

323.  They  descended  the  mountain  on  its  south  side  and  walked 
toward  the  warm  spring  at  7o'sa/o.120     As  they  were  walking  along 
under  a  high  bluff,  where  there  is  now  a  white  circle,  they  heard 
voices    hailing  them.      "Whither   are   you   going?      Come   hither 
a  while."    They  went  in  the  direction  in  which  they  heard  the  voices 
calling  and  found  four  holy  people,  —  Holy  Man,  Holy  Young  Man, 
Holy  Boy,  and  Holy  Girl.    The  brothers  remained  all  night  in  a  cave 
with  these  people,  and  the  latter  told  them  all  about  Yeitso.121    They 
said  that  he  showed  himself  every  day  three  times  on  the  mountains 
before  he  came  down,  and  when  he  showed  himself  for  the  fourth 
time  he  descended  from  Tsotsi/  to  76'sa/o  to  drink  ;  that,  when  he 
stooped  down  to  drink,  one  hand  rested  on  Tsotsi/  and  the  other  on 
the  high  hills  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  while  his  feet 
stretched  as  far  .away  as  a  man  could  walk  between  sunrise  and 
noon. 

324.  They  left  the  cave  at  daybreak   and  went  on   to   7o'sa/o, 
where  in  ancient  days  there  was  a  much  larger  lake  than  there  is 
now.    There  was  a  high,  rocky  wall  in  the  narrow  part  of  the  valley, 
and  the  lake  stretched  back  to  where  Blue  Water  is  to-day.     When 
they  came  to  the  edge  of  the  lake,  one  brother  said  to  the  other: 
"  Let  us  try  one  of  our  father's  weapons  and    see  what  it  can  do." 
They  shot  one  of  the  lightning  arrows  at  Tsotsi/;  it  made  a  great 
cleft  in  the  mountain,  which  remains  to  this  day,  and  one  said  to  the 
other :  "  We  cannot  suffer  in  combat  while  we  have  such  weapons  as 
these." 

325.  Soon  they  heard  the  sound  of  thunderous  footsteps,  and  they 
beheld  the  head  of  Yeitso  peering  over  a  high  hill  in  the  east;  it  was 
withdrawn  in  a  moment.     Soon  after,  the  monster  raised  his  head 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  1 1 5 

and  chest  over  a  hill  in  the  south,  and  remained  a  little  longer  in 
sight  than  when  he  was  in  the  east.  Later  he  displayed  his  body  to 
the  waist  over  a  hill  in  the  west ;  and  lastly  he  showed  himself,  down 
to  the  knees,  over  Tsotsi/  in  the  north.122  Then  he  descended  the 
mountain,  came  to  the  edge  of  the  lake,  and  laid  down  a  basket 
which  he  was  accustomed  to  carry. 

326.  Yeitso  stooped  four  times  to  the  lake  to  drink,  and,  each  time 
he  drank,  the  waters  perceptibly  diminished;    when  he  had  done 
drinking,  the  lake  was  nearly  drained.123     The   brothers   lost   their 
presence  of  mind  at  sight  of  the  giant  drinking,  and  did  nothing 
while  he  was  stooping  down.     As  he  took  his  last  drink  they  ad- 
vanced to  the  edge  of  the  lake,  and  Yeitso  saw  their  reflection  in 
the  water.    He  raised  his  head,  and,  looking  at  them,  roared:  "What 
a  pretty  pair  have  come  in  sight !     Where  have  I  been  hunting?  " 
(i.  e.,  that  I  never  saw  them  before).    Yinike/oko  !  Yinike/oko  !  "  124 
"  Throw  (his  words)  back  in  his  mouth,"  said  the  younger  to  the 
elder  brother.     "  What  a  great  thing  has  come  in  sight !     Where 
have  we  been  hunting?"  shouted  the  elder  brother  to  the  giant. 
Four  times  these  taunts  were  repeated  by  each  party.   The  brothers 
then  heard  Ni'ltri  whispering  quickly,  "  Ako' !  Ako' !  Beware  !    Be- 
ware !  "      They  were  standing  on  a  bent  rainbow  just  then  ;  they' 
straightened  the  rainbow  out,  descending  to  the  ground,  and  at  the 
same  instant  a  lightning  bolt,  hurled  by  Yeitso,  passed  thundering 
over  their  heads.     He  hurled  four  bolts  rapidly ;  as  he  hurled  the 
second,  they  bent  their  rainbow  and   rose,   while  the   bolt  passed 
under  their  feet  ;  as  he  discharged  the  third  they  descended,  and 
let  the  lightning  pass  over  them.     When  he  threw  the  fourth  bolt 
they  bent  the  rainbow  very  high,  for  this  time  he  aimed  higher  than 
before  ;  but  his  weapon  still  passed  under  their  feet  and  did  them 
no  harm.     He  drew  a  fifth  bolt  to  throw  at  them  ;    but  at  this 
moment  the  lightning  descended  from  the  sky  on  the  head  of  the 
giant  and  he  reeled  beneath  it,  but  did  not  fall.125     Then  the  elder 
brother  sped  a  chain-lightning  arrow  ;  his  enemy  tottered  toward  the 
east,  but  straightened  himself  up  again.     The  second  arrow  caused 
him  to  stumble  toward  the  south  (he  fell  lower  and  lower  each  time), 
but  again  he  stood  up  and  prepared  himself  to  renew  the  conflict. 
The  third  lightning  arrow  made  him  topple  toward  the  west,  and 
the  fourth  to  the  north.     Then  he  fell  to  his  knees,  raised  himself 
partly  again,  fell  flat  on  his  face,  stretched  out  his  limbs,  and  moved 
no  more. 

327.  When   the  arrows   struck  him,   his  armor  was   shivered   in 
pieces  and  the  scales  flew  in  every  direction.     The  elder  brother 
said:  "  They  may  be  useful  to  the  people  in  the  future."126     The 
brothers    then    approached    their   fallen    enemy   and   the   younger 


n6  Navaho  Legends. 

scalped  him.  Heretofore  the  younger  brother  bore  only  the  name 
of  Tb'bad^ist.rini,  or  Child  of  the  Water ;  but  now  his  brother  gave 
him  also  the  warrior  name  of  NaiVikm  (He  Who  Cuts  Around). 
What  the  elder  brother's  name  was  before  this  we  do  not  know ; 
but  ever  after  he  was  called  Nayenezgani  (Slayer  of  the  Alien 
Gods).127 

328.  They  cut  off  his  head  and  threw  it  away  to  the  other  side  of 
TsotsT/,  where  it  may  be  seen  to-day  on  the  eastern   side  of  the 
mountain.128    The  blood  from  the  body  now  flowed  in  a  great  stream 
down  the  valley,  so  great  that  it   broke  down  the  rocky  wall  that 
bounded   the   old   lake   and   flowed    on.      Nflt^i  whispered   to  the 
brothers :   "  The  blood  flows  toward   the   dwelling  of   the   Bmaye 
AMni ;  if  it  reaches  them,  Yeitso  will  come  to  life  again."     Then 
Nayenezgani  took  his  pe^al,  or  knife  club,  and  drew  with  it  across 
the  valley  a  line.     Here  the  blood  stopped  flowing  and  piled  itself 
up  in  a  high  wall.     But  when  it  had  piled  up  here  very  high  it  began 
to  flow  off  in  another  direction,  and  Ni'ltn  again  whispered  :  "  It  now 
flows  toward  the  dwelling  of  Sajnalkahi,  the  Bear  that  Pursues ; 
if  it  reaches  him,  Yeitso  will  come  to  life  again."     Hearing  this, 
Nayenezgani  again  drew  a  line  with  his  knife  on  the  ground,  and 
again  the  blood  piled  up  and  stopped  flowing.     The  blood  of  Yeitso 
fills  all  the  valley  to-day,  and  the  high  cliffs   in  the  black  rock  that 
we  see  there  now  are  the  places  where  Nayenezgani  stopped  the  flow 
with  his  pe^al.129 

329.  They  then  put  the  broken  arrows  of  Yeitso  and  his  scalp 
into  his  basket  and  set  out  for  their  home  near  Dsi/nao/i/.     When 
they  got  near  the  house,  they  took  off  their  own  suits  of  armor  and 
hid  these,  with  the  basket  and  its   contents,  in  the  bushes.     The 
mothers  were  rejoiced  to  see  them,  for  they  feared  their  sons  were 
lost,  and  they  said  :  "  Where  have  you  been  since  you  left  here  yes- 
terday, and  what  have  you  done  ?  "     Nayenezgani  replied  :  "  We  have 
been  to  the  house  of  our  father,  the  Sun.     We  have  been  to  Tsots!/ 
and  we  have  slain  Yeitso."     "  Ah,  my  child,"  said  Estsanatlehi,  "  do 
not  speak  thus.     It  is  wrong  to  make  fun  of  such  an  awful  subject." 
"Do  you  not  believe  us  ?  "  said  Nayenezgani ;  "come  out,  then,  and 
see  what  we  have  brought  back  with  us."     He  led  the  women  out 
to  where  he  had  hidden  the  basket  and  showed  them  the  trophies  of 
Yeitso.     Then  they  were  convinced  and  they  rejoiced,  and  had  a 
dance  to  celebrate  the  victory.130 

330.  When  their  rejoicings  were  done,  Nayenezgani  said  to  his 
mother  :  "  Where  does  Teelge/131  dwell  ?  "    "  Seek  not  to  know,"  she 
answered,  "  you  have  done  enough.     Rest  contented.     The  land  of 
the  anaye  is  a  dangerous  place.    The  anaye  are  hard  to  kill."    "Yes, 
and  it  was  hard  for  you  to  bear  your  child,"  the  son  replied  (meaning 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  117 

that  she  triumphed  notwithstanding).  "  He  lives  at  Bike/^atei'n," 
she  said.  Then  the  brothers  held  a  long  council  to  determine  what 
they  should  do.  They  made  two  cigarette  kethawns  of  a  plant  called 
aze/a<^il/ehe,132  one  black  and  one  blue,  each  three  finger-widths  long ; 
to  these  they  attached  a  sunbeam  and  laid  them  in  a  turquoise  dish. 
"I  shall  go  alone  to  fight  TeelgeV,"  said  Nayenezgani,  "while  you, 
younger  brother,  remain  at  home  and  watch  these  kethawns.  If 
they  take  fire  from  the  sunbeam,  you  may  know  that  I  am  in  great 
danger ;  as  long  as  they  do  not  take  fire,  you  may  know  that  I  am 
safe."  This  work  was  finished  at  sundown.133 

331.  Nayenezgani  arose  early  next  morning  and  set  out  alone  to 
find  2"eelge/.     He  came,  in  time,  to  the  edge  of  a  great  plain,  and 
from  one  of  the  hills  that  bordered  it  he  saw  the  monster  lying 
down  a  long  way  off.     He  paused  to  think  how  he  could  approach 
nearer  to  him  without  attracting  his  attention,  and  in  the  mean  time 
he  poised  one  of  his  lightning  arrows   in   his  hand,   thinking  how 
he  should  throw  it.      While  he  stood  thus  in  thought,  Nasi'zi,  the 
Gopher,  came  up  to  him  and  said  :  "  I  greet  you,  my  friend  !     Why 
have  you  come  hither?"     "  Oh,  I  am  just  wandering  around,"  said 
Nayenezgani.     Four  times  this  question  was  asked  and  this  answer 
was  given.     Then  Nasi'zi  said  :  "  I  wonder  that  you  come  here  ;  no 
one  but  I  ever  ventures  in  these  parts,  for  all  fear  TeelgeV.     There 
he  lies  on  the  plain  yonder."    "  It  is  him  I  seek,"  said  Nayenezgani ; 
"but  I  know  not  how  to  approach  him."     "Ah,  if  that  is  all  you 
want,  I  can  help  you,"  said  Gopher  ;  "and  if  you  slay  him,  all  I  ask 
is  his  hide.     I  often  go  up  to  him,  and  I  will  go  now  to  show  you." 
Having  said  this,  Nasi'zi  disappeared  in  a  hole  in  the  ground. 

332.  While  he  was  gone  Nayenezgani  watched   TeelgeV.     After  a 
while  he  saw  the  great  creature  rise,  walk  from  the  centre  in  four 
different  directions,  as  if  watching,  and  lie  down  again  in  the  spot 
where  he  was  first  seen.     He  was  a  great,  four-footed  beast,  with 
horns  like  those  of  a  deer.    Soon  Nasi'zi  returned  and  said  :  "  I  have 
dug  a  tunnel  up  to  TeelgeV,  and  at  the  end  I  have  bored  four  tun- 
nels for  you  to  hide  in,  one  to  the  east,  one  to  the  south,  one  to  the 
west,  and  one  to  the  north.     I  have  made  a  hole  upwards  from  the 
tunnel  to  his  heart,  and  I  have  gnawed  the  hair  off  near  his  heart. 
When  I  was  gnawing  the  hair  he  spoke  to  me  and  said:  'Why  do 
you  take  my  hair  ? '  and  I  answered,  '  I  want  it  to  make  a  bed  for 
my  children.'     Then  it  was  that  he  rose  and  walked  around ;  but  he 
came  back  and  lay  down  where  he  lay  before,  over  the  hole  that 
leads  up  to  his  heart." 

333.  Nayenezgani   entered  the  tunnel   and   crawled  to  the  end. 
When  he  looked  up  through  the  ascending  shaft  of  which  Nasi'zi  had 
told  him,  he  saw  the  great  heart  of  TeelgeV  beating  there.     He  sped 


n8  Navaho  Legends. 


his  arrow  of  chain-lightning  and  fled  into  the  eastern  tunnel.  The 
monster  rose,  stuck  one  of  his  horns  into  the  ground,  and  ripped  the 
tunnel  open.  Nayenezgani  fled  into  the  south  tunnel ;  TeelgeV  then 
tore  the  south  tunnel  open  with  his  horns,  and  the  hero  fled  into  the 
west  tunnel.  When  the  west  tunnel  was  torn  up  he  fled  into  the 
north  tunnel.  The  anaye  put  his  horn  into  the  north  tunnel  to 
tear  it  up,  but  before  he  had  half  uncovered  it  he  fell  and  lay  still. 
Nayenezgani,  not  knowing  that  his  enemy  was  dead,  and  still  fearing 
him,  crept  back  through  the  long  tunnel  to  the  place  where  he  first 
met  NasT'zi,  and  there  he  stood  gazing  at  the  distant  form  of  7eelge7. 

334.  While  he  was  standing  there  in  thought,   he  observed  ap- 
proaching him  a  little  old  man  dressed  in  tight  leggings  and  a  tight 
shirt,   with  a  cap  and   feather  on   his  head ;   this  was  //azai,  the 
Ground  Squirrel.     "  What  do  you  want  here,  my  grandchild  ?  "  said 
//azai.     "  Nothing  ;  I  am  only  walking  around,"  replied  the  warrior. 
Four  times  this  question  was  asked  and  four  times  a  similar  answer 
given,  when  Ground  Squirrel  spoke  again  and  inquired  :  "  Do  you 
not  fear  the  anaye  that  dwells  on  yonder  plain  ? "    "  I  do  not  know," 
replied  Nayenezgani ;  "  I  think  I  have  killed  him,  but  I  am  not  cer- 
tain."    "Then   I  can  find  out  for  you,"  said  //azai.     "He  never 
minds  me.     I  can  approach  him  any  time  without  danger.     If  he  is 
dead  I  will  climb  up  on  his  horns  and  dance  and  sing."     Nayenezgani 
had  not  watched  long  when  he  saw  //azaf  climbing  one  of  the  horns 
and  dancing  on  it.     When  he  approached  his  dead  enemy  he  found 
that  //azaf  had  streaked  his  own  face  with  the  blood  of  the  slain  (the 
streaks  remain  on  the  ground  squirrel's  face  to  this  day),  and  that 
Nasi'zi  had  already  begun  to  remove  the  skin  by  gnawing  on  the 
insides  of  the  fore-legs.     When  Gopher  had  removed  the  skin,  he 
put  it  on  his  own  back  and  said  :  "  I  shall  wear  this  in  order  that,  in 
the  days  to  come,  when  the  people  increase,  they  may  know  what 
sort  of  a  skin  TeelgeV  wore."     He  had  a  skin  like  that  which  covers 
the  Gopher  to-day,    //azai  cut  out  a  piece  of  the  bowel,  filled  it  with 
blood,   and  tied  the  ends  ;  he  cut  out  also  a  piece  of  one  of  the 
lungs,  and  he  gave  these  to  Nayenezgani  for  his  trophies.134 

335.  When  Nayenezgani  came  home  again,  he  was  received  with 
great  rejoicing,  for  his  mother  had  again  begun  to  fear  he  would 
never  more  return.     "Where  have  you  been,  my  son,  and  what  have 
you  done  since  you  have  been  gone?"  she  queried.     "I  have  been 
to  Bike/;al#i'n  and  I  have  slain   Teelge/,"  he  replied.     "Ah,  speak 
not  thus,  my  son,"  she  said ;  "  he  is  too  powerful  for  you  to  talk  thus 
lightly  about  him.    If  he  knew  what  you  said  he  might  seek  you  out 
arid  kill  you."     "  I  have  no  fear  of  him,"  said  her  son.    "  Here  is  his 
blood,  and  here  is  a  piece  of  his  liver.     Do  you  not  now  believe  I 
have  slain  him  ?  "     Then  he  said  :  "  Mother,  grandmother,  tell  me, 


O  >4 

§       1 

t-3       "3 


or  THf 
UNIVERSITY 

OF 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  1 1 9 

where  do  the  Tse'na'hale 135  dwell?"  "They  dwell  at  Tse'bi/ai 
(Winged  Rock),"136  she  answered,  "but  do  not  venture  near  them; 
they  are  fierce  and  strong." 

336.  Next  morning  early  he  stole  away,  taking  with  him  the  piece 
of  bowel  filled  with  blood.     He  climbed  the  range  of  mountains 
where  the  hill  of  Tsuskai  rises,  and  travelled  on  till  he  came  to  a 
place  where  two  great  snakes  lay.    Since  that  day  these  snakes  have 
been  changed  into  stone.     He  walked  along  the  back  of  one  of  the 
snakes,  and  then  he  stepped  from  one  snake  to  the  other  and  went 
out  on  the  plain  that  stretched  to  the  east  of  the  mountains,  until  he 
came  close  to  Tse'bi/aT,  which  is  a  great  black  rock  that  looks  like  a 
bird.     While  he  was  walking  along  he  heard  a  tremendous  rushing 
sound  overhead,  like  the  sound  of  a  whirlwind,  and,  looking  up,  he 
saw  a  creature  of  great  size,  something  like  an  eagle  in  form,  flying 
toward  him  from  the  east.     It  was  the  male  Tse'na'hale.     The  war- 
rior had  barely  time  to  cast   himself  prone  on  the  ground  when 
Tse'na'hale  swooped  over  him.     Thus  four  times  did  the  monster 
swoop  at  him,  coming  each  time  from  a  different  direction.     Three 
times   Nayenezgani  escaped ;  but  the  fourth  time,  flying  from  the 
north,  the  monster  seized   him   in  his  talons  and  bore  him  off  to 
Tse'bi/ai. 

337.  There  is  a  broad,  level  ledge  on  one  side  of  Tse'bi/aT,  where 
the  monster  reared  his  young  ;  he  let  the  hero  drop  on  this  ledge,  as 
was  his  custom  to  do  with  his  victims,  and  perched  on  a  pinnacle 
above.     This  fall  had  killed  all  others  who  had  dropped  there ;  but 
Nayenezgani  was   preserved  by  the  life-feather,  the  gift  of  Spider 
Woman,  which  he  still  kept.    When  the  warrior  fell  he  cut  open  the 
bag  of  bowel  that  he  carried  and  allowed  the  blood  of  TeelgeV  to 
flow  out  over  the  rock,  so  that  the  anaye  might  think  he  was  killed. 
The  two  young  approached  to  devour  the  body  of  the  warrior,  but 
he  said  "  Sh  ! "  at  them.    They  stopped  and  cried  up  to  their  father  : 
"  This  thing  is  not  dead  ;  it  says  '  Sh ! '  at  us."     "  That  is  only  air 
escaping  from  the  body,"  said  the  father ;  "  Never  mind,  but  eat  it." 
Then  he  flew  away  in  search  of  other  prey.     When  the  old  bird  was 
gone,  Nayenezgani  hid  himself  behind  the  young  ones  and  asked 
them,  "When  will  your  father  come  back,  and  where  will  he  sit  when 
he  comes  ?  "     They  answered  :  "  He  will  return  when  we  have  a  he- 
rain,137  and  he  will  perch  on  yonder  point "  (indicating  a  rock  close 
by  on  the  right).    Then  he  inquired  :  "When  will  your  mother  return, 
and  where  will  she  sit  ?  "     "  She  will  come  when  we  have  a  she- 
rain,137  and  will  sit  on  yonder  point  "  (indicating  a  crag  on  the  left). 
He  had  not  waited  long  when  drops  of  rain  began  to  fall,  the  thun- 
der  rolled,  lightning   flashed,  the  male   Tse'na'hale   returned   and 
perched  on  the   rock  which   the   young   had   pointed   out.     Then 


I2O  Navaho  Legends. 

Nayenezgani  hurled  a  lightning  arrow  and  the  monster  tumbled  to 
the  foot  of  Winged  Rock  dead.  After  a  while  rain  fell  again,  but 
there  was  neither  thunder  nor  lightning  with  it.  While  it  still 
poured,  there  fell  upon  the  ledge  the  body  of  a  Pueblo  woman, 
covered  with  fine  clothes  and  ornamented  with  ear  pendants  and 
necklaces  of  beautiful  shells  and  turquoise.  Nayenezgani  looked  up 
and  beheld  the  female  Tse'na'hale  soaring  overhead  (she  preyed  only 
on  women,  the  male  only  on  men).  A  moment  later  she  glided 
down,  and  was  just  about  to  light  on  her  favorite  crag,  when 
Nayenezgani  hurled  another  lightning  arrow  and  sent  her  body 
down  to  the  plain  to  join  that  of  her  mate. 

338.  The  young  ones  now  began  to  cry,  and  they  said  to  the  war- 
rior :  "  Will  you  slay  us,  too  ? "     "  Cease  your  wailing,"  he  cried. 
"  Had  you  grown  up  here  you  would  have  been  things  of  evil ;  you 
would  have  lived  only  to  destroy  my  people ;  but  I  shall  now  make 
of -you  something  that  will  be  of  use  in  the  days  to  come  when  men 
increase  in  the  land."     He  seized  the  elder  and  said  to  it,  "  You 
shall  furnish  plumes  for  men  to  use  in   their  rites,  and  bones  for 
whistles."     He  swung  the  fledgling  back  and  forth  four  times  ;  as 
he  did  so  it  began  to  change  into  a  beautiful  bird  with  strong  wings, 
and  it  said  :  "  Suk,  suk,  suk,  suk."    Then  he  threw  it  high  in  the  air. 
It  spread  its  pinions  and  soared  out  of  sight,  an  eagle.     To  the 
younger  he  said  :  "  In  the  days  to  come  men  will  listen  to  your  voice 
to  know  what  will  be  their  future  :  sometimes  you  will  tell  the  truth  ; 
sometimes  you  will  lie."     He  swung  it  back  and  forth,  and  as  he  did 
so  its  head  grew  large  and  round ;  its  eyes  grew  big  ;  it  began  to 
say,  "  Uwu,  uwu,  uwu,  uwu,"  and  it  became  an  owl.     Then  he  threw 
it  into  a  hole  in  the  side  of  the  cliff  and  said  :  "  This  shall  be  your 

1  Ml OQ  • 

home. 

339.  As  he  had  nothing  more  to  do  at  Tse'bl/aT,  he  determined  to 
go  home,  but  he  soon  found  that  there  was  no  way  for  him  to  descend 
the  rock ;  nothing  but  a  winged   creature   could  reach  or  leave  the 
ledge  on  which  he  stood.     The  sun  was  about  half  way  down  to  the 
horizon  when  he  observed  the  Bat  Woman  walking  along  near  the 
base  of  the  cliff.     "  Grandmother,"  he  called  aloud,  "come  hither 
and  take  me  down."     "  T^e'dani,"  139  she  answered,  and  hid  behind  a 
point  of  rock.     Again  she  came  in  view,  and  again  he  called  her ; 
but  she  gave  him  the  same  reply  and  hid  herself  again.    Three  times 
were  these  acts  performed  and  these  words  said.     When  she  ap- 
peared for  the  fourth  time  and  he  begged  her  to  carry  him  down,  he 
added :  "  I  will  give  you  the  feathers  of  the  Tse'na'hale  if  you  will 
take  me  off  this  rock."     When  she  heard  this  she  approached  the 
base  of  the  rock,  and  soon  disappeared  under  the  ledge  where  he 
stood.     Presently  he  heard  a  strange  flapping  sound,140  and  a  voice 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  1 2 1 

calling  to  him  :  "  Shut  your  eyes  and  go  back,  for  you  must  not  see 
how  I  ascend."  He  did  as  he  was  bidden,  and  soon  after  the  Bat 
Woman  stood  beside  him.  "  Get  into  this  basket,  and  I  will  carry 
you  down,"  she  demanded.  He  looked  at  the  large  carrying-basket 
which  she  bore  on  her  back,  and  observed  that  it  hung  on  strings 
as  thin  as  the  strings  of  a  spider's  web.  "  Grandmother,"  he  said, 
"  I  fear  to  enter  your  basket ;  the  strings  are  too  thin."  "  Have  no 
fear,"  she  replied  ;  "  I  often  carry  a  whole  deer  in  this  basket :  the 
strings  are  strong  enough  to  bear  you."  Still  he  hesitated,  and  still 
she  assured  him.  The  fourth  time  that  he  expressed  his  fear  she 
said :  "  Fill  the  basket  with  stones  and  you  will  see  that  I  speak  the 
truth."  He  did  as  he  was  bidden,  and  she  danced  around  with  the 
loaded  basket  on  her  back  ;  but  the  strings  did  not  break,  though 
they  twanged  like  bowstrings.  When  he  entered  the  basket  she 
bade  him  keep  his  eyes  shut  till  they  reached  the  bottom  of  the  cliff, 
as  he  must  not  see  how  she  managed  to  descend.  He  shut  his  eyes, 
and  soon  felt  himself  gradually  going  down  ;  but  he  heard  again  the 
strange  flapping  against  the  rock,  which  so  excited  his  curiosity  that 
he  opened  his  eyes.  Instantly  he  began  to  fall  with  dangerous 
rapidity,  and  the  flapping  stopped ;  she  struck  him  with  her  stick 
and  bade  him  shut  his  eyes.  Again  he  felt  himself  slowly  descend- 
ing, and  the  flapping  against  the  rock  began.  Three  times  more  he 
disobeyed  her,  but  the  last  time  they  were  near  the  bottom  of  the 
cliff,  and  both  fell  to  the  ground  unhurt. 

340.  Together  they  plucked  the  two  Tse'na'hale,  put  the  feathers 
in  her  basket,  and  got  the  basket  on  her  back.  He  reserved  only  the 
largest  feather  from  one  wing  of  each  bird  for  his  trophies.  As  she 
was  starting  to  leave  he  warned  her  not  to  pass  through  either  of  two 
neighboring  localities,  which  were  the  dry  beds  of  temporary  lakes  ; 
one  was  overgrown  with  weeds,  the  other  with  sunflowers.  Despite 
his  warning  she  walked  toward  the  sunflowers.  As  she  was  about 
to  enter  them  he  called  after  her  again,  and  begged  her  not  to  go  that 
way,  but  she  heeded  him  not  and  went  on.  She  had  not  taken  many 
steps  among  the  sunflowers  when  she  heard  a  fluttering  sound  behind 
her,  and  a  little  bird  of  strange  appearance  flew  past  her  close  to 
her  ear.  As  she  stepped  farther  on  she  heard  more  fluttering  and 
saw  more  birds  of  varying  plumage,  such  as  she  had  never  seen 
before,  flying  over  her  shoulders  and  going  off  in  every  direction. 
She  looked  around,  and  was  astonished  to  behold  that  the  birds  were 
swarming  out  of  her  own  basket.  She  tried  to  hold  them  in,  to 
catch  them  as  they  flew  out,  but  all  in  vain.  She  laid  down  her 
basket  and  watched,  helplessly,  her  feathers  changing  into  little  birds 
of  all  kinds, — wrens,  warblers,  titmice,  and  the  like,  —  and  flying 
away,  until  her  basket  was  empty.  Thus  it  was  that  the  little  birds 
were  created.141 


122  Navaho  Legends. 

341.  When  he  got  home  7Vbad.2ist.nni  said  to  him  :  "  Elder  brother, 
I  have  watched  the  kethawns  all  the  time  you  were  gone.     About 
midday  the  black  cigarette  took  fire,  and  I  was  troubled,  for  I  knew 
you  were  in  danger ;  but  when  it  had  burned  half  way  the  fire  went 
out  and  then  I  was  glad,  for  I  thought  you  were  safe  again."     "Ah, 
that  must  have  been  the  time  when  Tse'na'hale  carried  me  up  and 
threw  me  on  the  rocks,"  said  Nayenezgani.     He  hung  his  trophies 
on  the  east  side  of  the  lodge,  and  then  he  asked  his  mother  where 
Tse'/a^ot-yil/a'/i  m  dwelt.     She  told  him  he  lived  at  TseWeza ;  but, 
as    on    previous  occasions,    she  warned  him   of  the   power   of  the 
enemy,  and  tried  to  dissuade  him   from   seeking  further  dangers. 
Next  morning  he  set   out  to  find  Tse7a^oUnVa7i,  He  Who   Kicks 
(People)  Down  the  Cliff.    This  anaye  lived  on  the  side  of  a  high  cliff, 
a  trail  passed  at  his  feet,  and  when  travellers  went  that   way  he 
kicked  them  down  to  the  bottom   of  the  precipice.     Nayenezgani 
had  not  travelled  long  when  he  discovered  a  well-beaten  trail ;  fol- 
lowing this,  he  found  that  it  led  him  along  the  face  of  a  high  preci- 
pice, and  soon  he  came  in  sight  of  his  enemy,  who  had  a  form  much 
like  that  of  a  man.     The  monster  reclined  quietly  against  the  rock, 
as  if  he  meditated  no  harm,  and  Nayenezgani  advanced  as  if  he 
feared  no  danger,  yet  watching  his  adversary  closely.    As  he  passed, 
the  latter  kicked  at  him,  but  he  dodged  the  kick  and  asked  :  "  Why 
did  you  kick  at   me  ?  "     "  Oh,  my  grandchild,"  said  the  anaye,  "  I 
was  weary  lying  thus,  and  I  only  stretched  out  my  leg  to  rest  my- 
self."   Four  times  did  Nayenezgani  pass  him,  and  four  times  did  the 
monster  kick  at  him  in  vain.     Then  the  hero  struck  his  enemy  with 
his  great  stone  knife  over  the  eyes,  and  struck  him  again  and  again 
till  he  felt  sure  that  he  had  slain  him  ;  but  he  was  surprised  to  find 
that  the  body  did  not  fall  down   the  cliff.     He  cut  with  his  knife 
under  the  corpse  in  different  places,  but  found  nothing  that  held  it 
to  the  rock  until  he  came  to  the  head,  and  then  he  discovered  that 
the  long  hair  grew,  like  the  roots  of  a  cedar,  into  a  cleft  in  the  rock. 
When  he  cut  the  hair,143  the  body  tumbled  down  out  of  sight.     The 
moment  it  fell  a  great  clamor  of  voices  came  up  from  below.     "  I 
want  the  eyes,"  screamed  one  ;  "  Give  me  an  arm,"  cried  another  ; 
"I  want  the  liver,"  said   a  third;  "No,  the  liver  shall   be  mine," 
yelled  a  fourth  ;  and  thus  the  quarrelling  went  on.     "  Ah  !  "  thought 
Nayenezgani,  "  these  are  the  children  quarrelling  over  the  father's 
corpse.     Thus,  perhaps,  they  would  have  been  quarrelling  over  mine 
had  I  not  dodged  his  kicks." 

342.  He  tried  to  descend  along  the  trail  he  was  on,  but  found  it 
led  no  farther.     Then  he  retraced  his  steps  till  he  saw  another  trail 
that  seemed  to  lead  to  the  bottom  of  the  cliff.     He  followed  it  and 
soon  came  to  the  young  of  the  anaye,  twelve  in  number,  who  had 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  123 

just  devoured  their  father's  corpse ;  the  blood  was  still  streaming 
from  their  mouths.  He  ran  among  them,  and  hacked  at  them  in 
every  direction  with  his  great  stone  knife.  They  fled  ;  but  he  pur- 
sued them,  and  in  a  little  while  he  had  killed  all  but  one.  This  one 
ran  faster  than  the  rest,  and  climbed  among  some  high  rocks  ;  but 
Nayenezgani  followed  him  and  caught  him.  He  stopped  to  take 
breath ;  as  he  did  so  he  looked  at  the  child  and  saw  that  he  was  dis- 
gustingly ugly  and  filthy.  "  You  ugly  thing,"  said  Nayenezgani ; 
"when  you 'ran  from  me  so  fleetly  I  thought  you  might  be  some- 
thing handsome  and  worth  killing  ;  but  now  that  I  behold  your  face 
I  shall  let  you  live.  Go  to  yonder  mountain  of  NatsTsaan  144  and 
dwell  there.  It  is  a  barren  land,  where  you  will  have  to  work  hard 
for  your  living,  and  will  wander  ever  naked  and  hungry."  The  boy 
went  to  Natsisaan,  as  he  was  told,  and  there  he  became  the  progeni- 
tor of  the  Pahutes,  a  people  ugly,  starved,  and  ragged,  who  never 
wash  themselves  and  live  on  the  vermin  of  the  desert.145 

343.  He  went  to  where  he  had  first  found  the  children  of  Tse^a- 
^otril/a'/i.     Nothing  was  left  of  the  father's  corpse  but  the  bones 
and  scalp.     (This-  anaye  used  to  wear  his  hair  after  the  manner  of  a 
Pueblo  Indian.)     The  hero  cut  a  piece  of  the  hair  from  one  side 
of  the  head  and  carried  it  home  as  a  trophy.     When  he  got  home 
there  were  the  usual  questions  and  answers  and  rejoicings,  and  when 
he  asked  his  mother,  "  Where  is  the  home  of  the  Bmaye  A/zani,  the 
people  who  slay  with  their  eyes,"  she  begged  him,  as  before,  to  rest 
contented  and  run  no  more  risks ;  but  she   added  :  "  They  live  at 
Tse'a^akfni,  Rock  with  Black  Hole."  146    This  place  stands  to  this 
day,  but  is  changed  since  the  anaye  dwelt  there.     It  has  still  a  hole, 
on  one  side,  that  looks  like  a  door,  and  another  on  the  top  that  looks 
like  a  smoke-hole. 

344.  On  this  occasion,  in  addition  to  his  other  weapons,  he  took 
a  bag  of  salt  with  him  on  his  journey.147    When  he  came  to  Tse'a^al- 
z\' ni  he  entered  the  rock  house  and  sat  down  on  the  north  side. 
In  other  parts  of  the  lodge  sat  the  old  couple  of  the  Bmaye  A/zani 
and  many  of  their  children.     They  all  stared  with  their  great  eyes 
at  the  intruder,  and  flashes  of  lightning  streamed  from  their  eyes 
toward  him,  but  glanced  harmless  off  his  armor.     Seeing  that  they 
did  not  kill  him,  they  stared  harder  and  harder  at  him,  until  their 
eyes  protruded  far  from  their  sockets.     Then  into  the  fire  in  the 
centre  of  the  lodge  he  threw  the  salt,  which  spluttered  and  flew  in 
every  direction,  striking  the  eyes  of  the  anaye  and   blinding  them. 
While  they  held  down  their  heads  in  pain,  he  struck  with  his  great 
stone  knife  and  killed  all  except  the  two  youngest. 

345.  Thus  he  spoke  to  the  two  which  he  spared  :  "  Had  you  grown 
up  here,  you  would  have  lived  only  to  be  things  of  evil  and  to  destroy 


124  Navaho  Legends. 

men  ;  but  now  I  shall  make  you  of  use  to  my  kind  in  the  days  to 
come  when  men  increase  on  the  earth."  To  the  elder  he  said  :  "  You 
will  ever  speak  to  men  and  tell  them  what  happens  beyond  their 
sight ;  you  will  warn  them  of  the  approach  of  enemies,"  and  he 
changed  it  into  a  bird  called  Tsidi/^oi 148  (shooting  or  exploring  bird). 
He  addressed  the  younger,  saying :  "  It  will  be  your  task  to  make 
things  beautiful,  to  make  the  earth  happy."  And  he  changed  it  into 
a  bird  called  //orto^i,149  which  is  sleepy  in  the  daytime  and  comes 
out  at  night. 

346.  When  he  reached  home  with  his  trophies,  which  were  the 
eyes  15°  of  the  first  Binaye  A//ani   he  had  killed,  and  told  what  he 
had  done,  Estsanatlehi  took  a  piece  of  the  lung  of   TeelgeV  (which 
he  had  previously  brought  home),  put  it  in  her  mouth,  and,  dancing 
sang  this  song  :  — 

Naydnezgani  brings  for  me, 
Of  T^elge/  he  brings  for  me, 
Truly  a  lung  he  brings  for  me, 
The  people  are  restored. 

Tb'badsrlstrini  brings  for  me, 
Of  Tse'na'hale  he  brings  for  me, 
Truly  a  wing  he  brings  for  me, 
The  people  are  restored. 

Z.e'yaneyani  brings  for  me, 
Of  Tse'/a^otrfl/d'/i  he  brings  for  me, 
Truly  a  side-lock  he  brings  for  me, 
The  people  are  restored. 

Tsdwenatlehi  151  brings  for  me, 
Of  Bmdye  AMni  he  brings  for  me, 
Truly  an  eye  he  brings  for  me, 
The  people  are  restored.270 

347.  When  she  had  finished  her  rejoicings  he  asked,  "  Where  shall 
I  find  Skmalkahi  (Bear  that  Pursues)  ?  "    "  He  lives  at  Tse'bahastsit 
(Rock  that  Frightens),"  she  replied ;  but  again  she  plead  with  him, 
pictured  to  him  the  power  of  the  enemy  he  sought,  and  begged  him 
to  venture  no  more. 

348.  Next  morning    he  went    off  to    Rock  that    Frightens   and 
walked  all  around  it,  without  meeting  the  bear  or  finding  his  trail. 
At  length,  looking  up  to  the  top  of  the  rock,  he  saw  the  bear's  head 
sticking  out  of  a  hole,  and  he  climbed  up.     The  bear's  den  was  in 
the  shape  of  a  cross,  and  had  four  entrances.     Nayenezgani  looked 
into  the  east  entrance,  the  south  entrance,  and  the  west  entrance 
without  getting  sight  of  his  enemy.     As  he  approached  the  north 
entrance  he  saw  the  head  of  the  watching  bear  again ;  but  it  was 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  125 

instantly  withdrawn,  and  the  bear  went  toward  the  south  entrance. 
The  hero  ran  round  fast  and  lay  in  wait.  In  a  little  while  the  bear 
thrust  forth  his  head  to  look,  and  Nayenezgani  cut  it  off  with  his 
great  stone  knife. 

349.  He  addressed  the  head,  saying  :  "  You  were  a  bad  thing  in 
your  old  life,  and  tried  only  to  do  mischief ;  but  in  new  shapes  I 
shall  make  you  of  use  to   the  people ;    in  the  future,  when  they 
increase  upon  the  earth,  you  will  furnish  them  with  sweet  food  to 
eat,  with  foam  to  cleanse  their  bodies,  and  with  threads  for  their 
clothing."     He  cut  the  head  into  three  pieces  :  he  threw  one  to  the 
east,  where  it  became  tsasi,  or  ^a^kan  ( Yucca  baccata) ;  he  threw 
another  to  the  west,  where  it  became  tsasitsoz  ( Yucca  angustifolia} ; 
and  he  threw  the  third  to  the  south,  where  it  became  no/a  (mescal). 
He  cut  off  the  left  forepaw  to  take  home  as  a  trophy. 

350.  "  Where  shall  I  find  Tse'nagahi  (Travelling  Stone)  ?  "  he  said 
after  he  had  returned  from  his  encounter  with  Pursuing  Bear  and 
shown  his  trophy  to  his  people.     "  You  will  find  him  in  a  lake  near 
where  Tse'espai  points   up,"   answered  Estsanatlehi ;    but  she  im- 
plored him  not  to  go  near  the  lake.     He  did  not  heed  her,  and  next 
morning  he  went  off  to  seek  the  Travelling  Stone. 

351.  He  approached  the  lake  on  the  north  side,  while  the  wind 
was  blowing  from  the  south,   but  he   saw  nothing   of   the    stone. 
Thence  he  went  around  to  the  south  side  of  the  lake.     When  he 
got  here  the  stone  scented  him,  rose  to  the  surface,  poised  itself  a 
moment,  and  flew  toward  Nayenezgani  as  if  hurled  by  a  giant  hand. 
Raising  his  lightning  arrow,  he  held  it  in  the  course  of  the  stone 
and  knocked  a  piece  off  the  latter.     When  the  stone  fell  he  struck 
another    piece  off  with  his  knife.      Tse'nagahi  now  saw   it   had  a 
powerful  foe  to  contend  against ;  so,  instead  of  hurling  itself  at  him 
again,  it  fled  and  Nayenezgani  went  in  pursuit.    He  chased  it  all  over 
the  present  Navaho  land,  knocking  pieces  off  it  in  many  places  152 
as  he  followed,  until  at  length  he  chased  it  into  the  San  Juan  River 
at  Tsm/a/zokata,   where   a   point  of  forest  runs  down  toward  the 
river. 

352.  Travelling  Stone  sped  down  with  the  current  and  Nayenezgani 
ran  along  the  bank  after  it.     Four  times  he  got  ahead  of  the  stone, 
but  three  times  it  escaped  him  by  dipping  deep  into  the  river.    When 
he  headed  it  off  for  the  fourth  time,  he  saw  it  gleaming  like  fire  under 
the  water,  and  he  stopped  to  gaze  at  it.     Then  the  stone  spoke  and 
said  :  "Sawe  (my  baby,  my  darling),  take  pity  on  me,  and  I  shall  no 
longer  harm  your  people,  but  do  good  to  them  instead.      I  shall 
keep  the  springs  in  the  mountains  open  and  cause  your  rivers  to 
flow  ;  kill  me  and  your  lands  will  become  barren."     Nayenezgani 
answered  :  "  If  you  keep  this  promise  I  shall  spare  you  ;  but  if  you 


126  Navaho  Legends. 

ever  more  do  evil  as  you  have  done  before,  I  shall  seek  you  again, 
and  then  I  shall  not  spare  you."  Tse'nagahi  has  kept  his  promise 
ever  since,  and  has  become  the  Tieholtsodi  of  the  upper  world. 

353.  He  brought  home  no  trophy  from  the  contest  with  Tse'nagahi. 
It  had  now  been  eight  days  since  he  left  the  house  of  the  Sun.153  He 
was  weary  from  his  battles  with  the  anaye,  and  he  determined  to 
rest  four  days.     During  this  time  he  gave  his  relatives  a  full  account 
of  his  journeys  and  his  adventures  from  first  to  last,  and  as  he  began 
he  sang  a  song  :  — 

Naydnezgani  to  Atsd  Estsdn  began  to  tell, 

About  Bi/eelge/i  he  began  to  tell, 

From  homes  of  giants  coming,  he  began  to  tell. 

Tb'bad^Istfini  to  Estsdnatlehi  began  to  tell, 

About  the  Tse'na'hale  he  began  to  tell, 

From  homes  of  giants  coming,  he  began  to  tell. 

Ze'yaneyani  to  Atsd  Estsa"n  began  to  tell, 

Of  Tse'/aAotrfl/d'/i  he  began  to  tell, 

From  homes  of  giants  coming,  he  began  to  tell. 

Tsdwenatlehi  to  Estsdnatlehi  began  to  tell, 

About  Bmdye  AMni  he  began  to  tell, 

From  homes  of  giants  coming,  he  began  to  tell.277 

354.  There  were  still  many  of  the  anaye  to  kill ;  there  was  White 
under  the   Rock,   Blue  under  the  Rock,   Yellow  under  the  Rock, 
Black  under  the  Rock,  and  many  ye/apahi,  or  brown  giants.     Besides 
these  there  were  a  number  of  stone  pueblos,  now  in  ruins,  that  were 
inhabited  by  various  animals  (crows,  eagles,  etc.),154  who  filled  the 
land  and  left  no  room  for  the  people.     During  the  four  days  of  rest, 
the  brothers  consulted  as  to  how  they  might  slay  all  these  enemies, 
and  they  determined  to  visit  again  the  house  of  the  Sun.     On  the 
morning  of  the  fourth  night  they  started  for  the  east.     They  en- 
countered no  enemies  on  the  way  and  had  a  pleasant  journey.   When 
they  entered  the  house  of  the  Sun  no  one  greeted  them ;  no  one 
offered  them  a  seat.     They  sat  down  together  on  the  floor,  and  as 
soon  as  they  were  seated  lightning  began  to  shoot  into  the  lodge. 
It  struck  the  ground  near  them  four  times.     Immediately  after  the 
last  flash  T^apani,  Bat,  and  ro'nemli,  Water  Sprinkler,  entered.    "  Do 
not  be  angry  with  us,"  said  the  intruders  ;   "  we  flung  the  lightning 
only  because  we  feel  happy  and  want  to  play  with  you  : "  still  the 
brothers  kept  wrathful  looks  on  their  faces,  until  Ni'ltji  whispered 
into  their  ears  :  "  Be  not  angry  with  the  strangers.    They  were  once 
friends  of  the  anaye  and  did  not  wish  them  to  die  ;  but  now  they 
are  friends  of  yours,  since  you  have  conquered  the  greatest  of  the 
anaye."      Then,  at  last,  T^ohanoai  spoke  to  his   children,  saying : 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  127 

"  These  people  are  rude ;  they  respect  no  one.  Heed  them  not. 
Here  are  seats  for  you.  Be  seated."  Saying  this,  he  offered  the 
brothers  a  seat  of  shell  and  a  seat  of  turquoise ;  but  Nl'ltri  told  the 
brothers  not  to  take  them.  "These  are  seats  of  peace,"  he  said; 
"you  still  want  help  in  war.  Nayenezgani,  take  the  seat  of  red 
stone,  which  is  the  warrior's  seat ;  and  you,  Tb'badzistsini,  stand." 
They  did  as  the  Wind  bade  them. 

355.  "  My  children,  why  do  you  come  to  me  again?"  asked 
T^ohanoai,  the  bearer  of  the  sun.  "  We  come  for  no  special  pur- 
pose ;  we  come  only  to  pass  away  the  time,"  Nayenezgani  answered. 
Three  times  he  asked  this  question  and  got  the  same  reply.  When 
he  asked  for  the  fourth  time,  he  added,  "  Speak  the  truth.  When 
you  came  to  me  before  I  gave  you  all  you  asked  for."  Now  it  was 
TVbad^istrini  who  replied  :  "  Oh,  father !  there  are  still  many  of 
the  anaye  left,  and  they  are  increasing.  We  wish  to  destroy  them." 
"  My  children,"  said  T^ohanoai,  "when  I  helped  you  before,  I  asked 
you  for  nothing  in  return.  I  am  willing  to  help  you  again  ;  but  I 
wish  to  know,  first,  if  you  are  willing  to  do  something  for  me.  I 
have  a  long  way  to  travel  every  day,  and  often,  in  the  long  summer 
days,  I  do  not  get  through  in  time,  and  then  I  have  no  place  to  rest 
or  eat  till  I  get  back  to  my  home  in  the  east.  I  wish  you  to  send 
your  mother  to  the  west  that  she  may  make  a  new  home  for  me." 
"  I  will  do  it,"  said  Nayenezgani ;  "  I  will  send  her  there."  But 
7Vbad,2rist.nni  said  :  "No,  Estsanatlehi  is  under  the  power  of  none ; 
we  cannot  make  promises  for  her,  she  must  speak  for  herself,  she 
is  her  own  mistress ;  but  I  shall  tell  .her  your  wishes  and  plead  for 
you."  The  room  they  were  in  had  four  curtains  which  closed  the 
ways  leading  into  other  apartments.  T^ohanoai  lifted  the  curtain  in 
the  east,  which  was  black,  and  took  out  of  the  room  in  the  east  five 
hoops  :  one  of  these  was  colored  black,  another  blue,  a  third  yellow, 
and  a  fourth  white,  the  fifth  was  many-colored  and  shining.  Each 
hoop  had  attached  to  it  a  knife  of  the  same  color  as  itself.  He  took 
out  also  four  great  hailstones,  colored  like  the  four  first  hoops.  He 
gave  all  these  to  his  sons  and  said :  "  Your  mother  will  know  what 
to  do  with  these  things." 

356.  When  they  got  their  gifts  they  set  out  on  their  homeward 
journey.  As  they  went  on  their  way  they  beheld  a  wonderful  vision. 
The  gods  spread  before  them  the  country  of  the  Navahoes  as  it  was 
to  be  in  the  future  when  men  increased  in  the  land  and  became 
rich  and  happy.  They  spoke  to  one  another  of  their  father,  of  what 
he  had  said  to  them,  of  what  they  had  seen  in  his  house,  and  of  all 
the  strange  things  that  had  happened.  When  they  got  near  their 
journey's  end  they  sang  this  song  :  — 


1 28  Navaho  Legends. 

Naydnezgani,  he  is  holy, 
Thus  speaks  the  Sun, 
Holy  he  stands. 

Tb'bads-istnni,  he  is  holy, 
Thus  speaks  the  Moon, 
Holy  he  moves. 

Zdyaneyani,  he  is  holy, 
Thus  speaks  the  Sun, 
Holy  he  stands. 

Tsdwenatlehi,  he  is  holy, 
Thus  speaks  the  Moon, 
Holy  he  moves. 2?s 

357.  When  they  got  within  sight  of  their  home  they  sang  this 

song  :  — 

Slayer  of  Giants, 
Through  the  sky  I  hear  him. 
His  voice  sounds  everywhere, 
His  voice  divine. 

Child  of  the  Water, 
Through  the  floods  I  hear  him. 
His  voice  sounds  everywhere, 
His  voice  divine. 

Reared  'neath  the  Earth, 
Through  the  earth  I  hear  him. 
His  voice  sounds  everywhere, 
His  voice  divine. 

The  Changing  Grandchild, 
Through  the  clouds  I  hear  him. 
His  voice  sounds  everywhere, 
His  voice  divine.279 

358.  When   the   brothers  got   home  they  said   to   Estsanatlehi : 
"  Here  are  the  hoops  which  our  father  has  given  us,  and  he  told  us 
you  knew  all  about  them.     Show  us,  then,  how  to  use  them."     She 
replied  :  "  I  have  no  knowledge  of  them."     Three  times  she  thus 
answered  their  questions.     When  they  spoke  to  her  for  the  fourth 
time  and  Nayenezgani  was  becoming  angry  and  impatient,  she  said  : 
"  I  have  never  seen  the  Sun  God  except  from  afar.     He  has  never 
been  down  to  the  earth  to  visit  me.     I  know  nothing  of  these  talis- 
mans of  his,  but  I  will  try  what  I  can  do."    She  took  the  black  hoop 
to  the  east,  set  it  up  so  that  it  might  roll,  and  spat  through  it  the  black 
hail,  which  was  four-cornered ;  at  once  the  hoop  rolled  off  to  the 
east  and  rolled  out  of  sight.     She  took  the  blue  hoop  to  the  south, 
set  it  up,  and  spat  through  it  the  blue  hail,  which  was  six-cornered. 
Then  the  hoop  rolled  away  to  the  south  and  disappeared.     She  car- 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  129 

ried  the  yellow  hoop  to  the  west,  set  it  up,  and  spat  through  it  the 
eight-cornered  yellow  hail ;  the  hoop  rolled  off  to  the  west  and  was 
lost  to  sight.  She  bore  the  white  hoop  to  the  north ;  spat  through  it 
the  white  hail,  which  had  eleven  corners,  and  the  hoop  sped  to  the 
north  until  it  was  seen  no  more.  She  threw  the  shining  hoop  up 
toward  the  zenith,  threw  the  four  colored  knives  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, and  blew  a  powerful  breath  after  them.  Up  they  all  went  until 
they  were  lost  to  sight  in  the  sky.  As  each  hoop  went  away  thunder 
was  heard.155 

359.  During  four  days  after  this  nothing  of  importance  happened, 
and  no  change  came  in  the  weather.  At  the  end  of  four  days  they 
heard  thunder  high  up  in  the  sky,  and  after  this  there  were  four  days 
more  of  good  weather.  Then  the  sky  grew  dark,  and  something  like  a 
great  white  cloud  descended  from  above.  Estsanatlehi  went  abroad  ; 
she  saw  in  all  directions  great  whirlwinds  which  uprooted  tall  trees 
as  if  they  had  been  weeds,  and  tossed  great  rocks  around  as  if  they 
had  been  pebbles.  "  My  son,  I  fear  for  our  house,"  she  said  when 
she  came  back.  "  It  is  high  among  the  mountains,  and  the  great 
winds  may  destroy  it."  When  he  heard  this,  Nayenezgani  went  out. 
He  covered  the  house  first  with  a  black  cloud,  which  he  fastened  to 
the  ground  with  rainbows  ;  second,  with  a  black  fog,  which  he  fas- 
tened down  with  sunbeams ;  third,  with  a  black  cloud,  which  he 
secured  with  sheet-lightning ;  and  fourth,  with  a  black  fog,  which  he 
secured  with  chain-lightning.  At  sunset  that  evening  they  caught  a 
little  glimpse  of  the  sun ;  but  after  that,  continuously  for  four  days 
and  four  nights,  it  was  dark ;  a  storm  of  wind  and  hail  prevailed, 
such  as  had  never  been  seen  before,  and  the  air  was  filled  with  sharp 
stones  carried  before  the  wind.  The  people  stayed  safe  in  the  lodge, 
but  they  could  hear  the  noise  of  the  great  storm  without.  On  the 
morning  of  the  fifth  day  the  tumult  ceased,  and  Nayenezgani,  going 
out,  found  that  all  was  calm,  though  it  was  still  dark.  He  now  pro- 
ceeded to  remove  the  coverings  from  the  lodge  and  threw  them 
upwards  toward  the  heavens.  As  the  first  covering,  a  sheet  of  fog, 
ascended,  chain-lightning  shot  out  of  it  (with  chain-lightning  it  had 
been  fastened  down).  As  the  second  covering,  a  cloud,  ascended, 
sheet-lightning  came  forth  from  it.  As  the  third  covering,  a  fog, 
went  up,  sunbeams  streamed  from  it ;  and  as  the  fourth  cover,  a 
robe  of  cloud,  floated  up,  it  became  adorned  with  rainbows.  The  air 
was  yet  dark,  and  full  of  dust  raised  by  the  high  wind ;  but  a  gentle 
shower  of  rain  came  later,  laying  the  dust,  and  all  was  clear  again. 
All  the  inmates  of  the  lodge  now  came  out,  and  they  marvelled  to 
see  what  changes  the  storm  had  wrought :  near  their  house  a  great 
canyon  had  been  formed ;  the  shape  of  the  bluffs  around  had  been 
changed,  and  solitary  pillars  of  rock  156  had  been  hewn  by  the  winds. 


1 30  Navaho  Legends. 

360.  "  Surely  all  the  anaye  are  now  killed,"   said    Estsanatlehi. 
"  This  storm  must  have  destroyed  them."    But  Ni'lt-si  whispered  into 
Nayenezgani's  ear,  "  Sa/z  (Old  Age)  still  lives."    The  hero  said  then 
to  his  mother  :  "  Where  used  Old  Age  to  dwell  ? "    His  mother  would 
not  answer  him,  though  he  repeated  his  question  four  times.    At  last 
Ni'ltri  again  whispered  in  his  ear  and  said :  "  She  lives  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Ztepe'ntsa." 

361.  Next  morning  he  set  out  for  the  north,  and  when,  after  a 
long  journey,  he  reached  Ztepe'ntsa,  he  saw  an  old  woman  who  came 
slowly  toward  him  leaning  on  a  staff.     Her  back  was  bent,  her  hair 
was  white,  and  her  face  was  deeply  wrinkled.     He  knew  this  must 
be  Scin.     When  they  met  he  said  :  "  Grandmother,  I  have  come  on  a 
cruel  errand.     I  have  come  to  slay  you."     "Why  would  you  slay 
me  ? "  she  said  in  a  feeble  voice,  "  I  have  never  harmed  any  one.     I 
hear  that  you  have  done  great  deeds  in  order  that  men  might  in- 
crease on  the  earth,  but  if  you  kill  me  there  will  be  no  increase  of 
men ;  the  boys  will  not  grow  up  to  become  fathers ;  the  worthless 
old  men  will  not  die ;  the  people  will  stand  still.     It  is  well  that 
people  should  grow  old  and  pass  away  and  give  their  places  to  the 
young.     Let  me  live,  and  I  shall  help  you  to  increase  the  people." 
"  Grandmother,  if  you  keep  this  promise  I  shall  spare  your  life," 
said  Nayenezgani,  and  he  returned  to  his  mother  without  a  trophy. 

362.  When  he  got  home  Ni'ltri  whispered  to  him  :  "  //akaz  Estsan 
(Cold  Woman)  still  lives."    Nayenezgani  said  to  Estsanatlehi :  "  Mo- 
ther, grandmother,  where  does  Cold  Woman  dwell  ?  "     His  mother 
would  not  answer  him  ;  but  Ni'ltri  again  whispered,  saying :  "  Cold 
Woman  lives  high  on  the  summits  of  Ztepe'ntsa,  where  the  snow 
never  melts." 

363.  Next  day  he  went  again  to  the  north  arid  climbed  high  among 
the  peaks  of  Ztepe'ntsa,  where  no  trees  grow  and  where  the  snow  lies 
white  through  all  the  summer.     Here  he  found  a  lean  old  woman, 
sitting  on  the  bare  snow,  without  clothing,  food,  fire,  or  shelter.     She 
shivered  from  head  to  foot,  her  teeth  chattered,  and  her  eyes  streamed 
water.     Among  the  drifting  snows  which  whirled  around  her,  a  mul- 
titude of  snow-buntings  were  playing ;  these  were  the  couriers  she 
sent  out  to  announce  the  coming  of  a  storm.     "  Grandmother,"  he 
said, ''  a  cruel  man  I  shall  be.    I  am  going  to  kill  you,  so  that  men  may 
no  more  suffer  and  die  by  your  hand,"  and  he  raised  his  knife-club  to 
smite  her.     "  You  may  kill  me  or  let  me  live,  as  you  will.     I  care 
not,"  she  said  to  the  hero ;  "  but  if  you  kill  me  it  will  always  be  hot, 
the  land  will  dry  up,  the  springs  will  cease  to  flow,  the  people  will 
perish.     You  will  do  well  to  let  me  live.     It  will  be  better  for  your 
people."     He  paused  and  thought  upon  her  words.     He  lowered 
the  hand  he  had  raised  to  strike  her,  saying :  "  You  speak  wisely, 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  131 

grandmother;    I  shall  let  you  live."     He  turned  around  and  went 
home. 

364.  When  Nayenezgani  got  home  from  this  journey,  bearing  no 
trophy,  Wind  again  whispered  in  his  ear  and  said  :  "  Tick  (Poverty) 
still  lives."     He  asked  his  mother  where  Poverty  used  to  live,  but 
she  would  not  answer  him.     It  was  Wind  who  again  informed  him. 
'•There  are  two,  and  they  dwell  at  Dsi/^asd^l'ni." 

365.  He  went  to  Dsi/^asd^i'ni  next  day  and  found  there  an  old  man 
and  an  old  woman,  who  were  filthy,  clad  in  tattered  garments,  and 
had  no  goods  in  their  house.     "  Grandmother,  grandfather,"  he. said, 
"a  cruel  man  I  shall  be.     I  have  come  to  kill  you."     "Do  not  kill 
us,  my  grandchild,"  said  the  old  man  :  "it  would  not  be'well  for  the 
people,  in  days  to  come,  if  we  were  dead ;  then  they  would  always 
wear  the  same  clothes  and  never  get  anything  new.     If  we  live,  the 
clothing  will  wear  out  and  the  people  will  make  new  and  beautiful 
garments  ;  they  will  gather  goods  and  look  handsome.     Let  us  live 
and  we  will  pull  their  old  clothes  to  pieces  for  them."    So  he  spared 
them  and  went  home  without  a  trophy. 

366.  The  next  journey  was  to  seek  Zfitri'n,  Hunger,  who  lived,  as 
Ni'ltsi  told  him,  at  Tlo/zadaskaf,  White  Spot  of  Grass.    At  this  place 
he  found  twelve  of  the  Hunger  People.     Their  chief  was  a  big,  fat 
man,  although  he  had  no  food  to  eat  but  the  little  brown  cactus.    "I 
am  going  to  be  cruel,"  said  Nayenezgani,  "so  that  men  may  suffer 
no  more  the  pangs  of  hunger  and  die  no  more  of  hunger."    "  Do  not 
kill  us,"   said  the  chief,  "  if  you  wish  your  people  to  increase  and 
be  happy  in  the  days  to  come.     We  are  your  friends.     If  we  die, 
the  people  will  not  care  for  food  ;  they  will  never  know  the  pleasure 
of  cooking  and  eating  nice  things,  and  they  will  never  care  for  the 
pleasures  of  the  chase."     So  he  spared  also  the  £>itri'n,  and  went 
home  without  a  trophy. 

367.  When  Nayenezgani  came  back  from  the  home  of  Hunger, 
Ni'ltji  spoke  to  him  no  more  of  enemies  that  lived.     The  Slayer  of 
the  Alien  Gods  said  to  his  mother  :  "  I  think  all  the  anaye  must  be 
dead,  for  every  one  I  meet  now  speaks  to  me  as  a  relation  ;  they  say 
to  me,  'my  grandson/  ^my  son/  'my  brother.'  "  15T     Then  he  took 
off  his  armor  —  his  knife,  moccasins,  leggings,  shirt,  and  cap  —  and 
laid  them  in  a  pile  ;  he  put  with  them  the  various  weapons  which   x;\ 
the  Sun  had  given  him,  and  he  sang  this  song :  — 

Now  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods  arrives 
Here  from  the  house  made  of  the  dark  stone  knives. 
From  where  the  dark  stone  knives  dangle  on  high, 
You  have  the  treasures,  holy  one,  not  I. 

The  Offspring  of  the  Water  now  arrives, 

Here  from  the  house  made  of  the  serrate  knives. 


132  Navaho  Legends. 

From  where  the  serrate  knives  dangle  on  high, 
You  have  the  treasures,  holy  one,  not  I. 

He  who  was  Reared  beneath  the  Earth  arrives, 
Here  from  the  house  made  of  all  kinds  of  knives. 
From  where  all  kinds  of  knives  dangle  on  high, 
You  have  the  treasures,  holy  one,  not  I. 

The  hero,  Changing  Grandchild,  now  arrives, 
Here  from  the  house  made  of  the  yellow  knives. 
From  where  the  yellow  knives  dangle  on  high, 
You  have  the  treasures,  holy  one,  not  I.280 

368.  His  song  had  scarcely  ceased  when  they  heard,  in  the  far 
east,  a  loud  voice  singing  this  song  :  - 

With  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods  I  come, 
From  the  house  made  of  dark  stone  knives  I  come, 
From  where  dark  knives  dangle  on  high  I  come, 
With  implement  of  sacred  rites  I  come, 
Dreadful  to  you. 

With  Offspring  of  the  Waters  now  I  come, 
From  the  house  made  of  serrate  knives  I  come, 
From  where  the  serrate  knives  hang  high  I  come, 
With  implement  of  sacred  rites  I  come, 
Divine  to  you. 

With  Reared  beneath  the  Earth  now  do  I  come, 
From  house  of  knives  of  every  kind  I  come, 
Where  knives  of  every  kind  hang  high  I  come, 
With  implement  of  sacred  rites  I  come, 
Dreadful  to  you. 

Now  with  the  Changing  Grandchild  here  I  come, 
From  the  house  made  of  yellow  knives  I  come, 
From  where  the  yellow  knives  hang  high  I  come, 
With  implement  of  sacred  rites  I  come, 
Dreadful  to  you.281 

369.  As  the  voice  came  nearer  and  the  song  continued,  Estsana- 
tlehi  said  to  the  youths  :  "  Put  on  quickly  the  clothes  you  usually 
wear,  T^ohanoai  is  coming  to  see  us  ;  be  ready  to  receive    him," 
and  she  left  the  lodge,  that  she  might  not  hear  them  talk  about  the 
anaye. 

370.  When  the  god  had  greeted  his  children  and  taken  a  seat,  he 
said  to  the  elder  brother  :  "  My  son,  do  you  think  you  have  slain  all 
the  anaye  ?"  "Yes,  father,"  replied  the  son,  "I  think  I  have  killed 
all  that  should  die."     "  Have  you  brought  home  trophies  from  the 
slain?"  the  father  questioned  again.     "Yes,  my  father,"  was  the 
reply ;  "  I  have  brought  back  wing-feathers,  and  lights  and  hair  and 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  133 

eyes,  and  other  trophies  of  my  enemies."  "  It  is  not  well,"  said 
TVohanoai,  "  that  the  bodies  of  these  great  creatures  should  lie 
where  they  fell ;  I  shall  have  them  buried  near  the  corpse  of  Yeitso. 
(He  got  the  holy  ones  to  carry  the  corpses  to  San  Mateo  and  hide 
them  under  the  blood  of  Yeitso,  and  this  is  the  reason  we  do  not 
see  them  lying  all  over  the  land  now,  but  sometimes  see  them  stick- 
ing out  of  the  rocks.)159  He  took  the  trophies  and  the  armor  and 
said  :  "  These  I  shall  carry  back  to  my  house  in  the  east  and  keep 
them  safe.  If  you  ever  need  them  again,  come  and  get  them." 
Promising  to  come  back  again  in  four  days,  and  meet  Estsanatlehi 
on  the  top  of  T^olihi,  he  departed. 

371.  At  the   end  of   four  days  Estsanatlehi  went  to  the   top  of 
Ts-olihi  and  sat  down  on  a  rock.     T^ohanoai  came,  sat  beside  her, 
and  sought  to  embrace  her;  but  she  avoided  him,  saying  :  "What  do 
you  mean  by  this  ?     I  want  none  of  your  embraces."     "  It  means 
that  I  want  you  for  my  own,"  said  the  bearer  of  the  Sun.     "  I  want 
you  to  come  to  the  west  and  make  a  home  for  me  there."     "  But  I 
do  not  wish  to  do  so,"  said  she.     "What  right  have  you  to  ask 
me  ? "     "  Have  I  not  given  your  boys  the  weapons  to  slay  the  alien 
gods  ?  "  he  inquired,  and  added  :  "  I  have  done  much  for  you :  now 
you  must  reward  me."     She  replied,  "  I  never  besought  you  to  do 
this.     You  did  not  do  it  on  my  account ;  you  did  it  of  your  own 
good  will,  and  because  your  sons  asked  you."     He  urged  another 
reason  :  "  When  Nayenezgani  visited  me  in  the  east,  he  promised  to 
give  you  to  me."     "What  care  I  for  his  promise?"  she  exclaimed; 
"  I  am  not  bound  by  it.     He  has  no  right  to  speak  for  me."     Thus 
four  times  she  repulsed  him.     When  he  pleaded  for  the  fifth  time, 
saying  :  "  Come  to  the  west  and  make  a  home  for  me,"  she  said  : 
"  Let  me  hear  first  all  you  have  to  promise  me.     You  have  a  beauti- 
ful house  in  the  east.     I  have  never  seen  it,  but  I  have  heard  how 
beautiful  it  is.     I  want  a  house  just  the  same  built  for  me  in  the 
west ;  I  want  to  have  it  built  floating  on  the  water,  away  from  the 
shore,  so  that  in  the  future,  when  people  increase,  they  will  not 
annoy  me  with  too  many  visits.     I  want  all  sorts  of  gems  —  white 
shell,    turquoise,    haliotis,    jet,    soapstone,    agate,    and    redstone  - 
planted  around  my  house,  so  that  they  will  grow  and  increase.    Then 
I  shall  be  lonely  over  there  and  shall  want  something  to  do,  for  my 
sons  and  my  sister  will  not  go  with  me.     Give  me  animals  to  take 
along.    Do  all  this  for  me  and  I  shall  go  with  you  to  the  west."    He 
promised  all  these  things  to  her,  and  he  made  elk,  buffalo,  deer, 
long-tail  deer,  mountain  sheep,  jack-rabbits,  and  prairie-dogs  to  go 
with  her. 

372.  When  she  started  for  her  new  home  the  //a^a^onestid^me' 
and  the  //a^a^onige^me',  two  tribes  of  divine  people,160  went  with 


1 34  Navaho  Legends. 

her  and  helped  her  to  drive  the  animals,  which  were  already  nu- 
merous. They  passed  over  the  Tuintja  range  at  Pe.y/it$i  (Red  Knife 
or  Red  Metal),  and  there  they  tramped  the  mountain  down  so  that 
they  formed  a  pass.  They  halted  in  T^mli  valley  to  have  a  cere- 
mony161 and  a  foot-race,  and  here  the  animals  had  become  vastly 
more  numerous.  When  they  crossed  Dsi//lsri'n  (Black  Moun- 
tain),162 the  herd  was  so  great  that  it  tramped  a  deep  pass  whose 
bottom  is  almost  on  a  level  with  the  surrounding  plain ;  at  Black 
Mountain  all  the  buffaloes  broke  from  the  herd  and  ran  to  the  east ; 
they  never  returned  to  Estsanatlehi  and  are  in  the  east  still.  At 
Hosto&itQ1  the  elks  went  to  the  east  and  they  never  returned.  From 
time  to  time  a  few,  but  not  all,  of  the  antelope,  deer,  and  other  ani- 
mals left  the  herd  and  wandered  east.  Four  days  after  leaving 
T^inli  valley  they  arrived  at  Dokoslid  (San  Francisco  Mountain), 
and  here  they  stopped  to  perform  another  ceremony.  What  hap- 
pened on  the  way  from  this  mountain  to  the  great  water  in  the  west, 
we  do  not  know,  but  after  a  while  Estsanatlehi  arrived  at  the  great 
water  and  went  to  dwell  in  her  floating  house  beyond  the  shore. 
Here  she  still  lives,  and  here  the  Sun  visits  her,  when  his  journey  is 
done,  every  day  that  he  crosses  the  sky.  But  he  does  not  go  every 
day ;  on  dark,  stormy  days  he  stays  at  home  in  the  east  and  sends 
in  his  stead  the  serpents  of  lightning,  who  do  mischief. 

373.  As  he  journeys  toward  the  west,  this  is  the  song  he  sings :  — 

In  my  thoughts  I  approach, 
The  Sun  God  approaches, 
Earth's  end  he  approaches, 
Estsdnatlehi's  hearth  approaches, 
In  old  age  walking 
The  beautiful  trail. 

In  my  thoughts  I  approach, 
The  Moon  God  approaches, 
Earth's  end  he  approaches, 
Yo/kdi  Estsdn's  hearth  approaches, 
In  old  age  walking 
The  beautiful  trail.282 

374.  When  Estsanatlehi  had  departed,  Nayenezgani  and   Tb'ba- 
dsrlstrfni  went,  as  their  father  had  bidden  them,  to  Tb'ye'tli,163  where 
two  rivers  join,  in  the  valley  of  the  San  Juan;    there  they  made 
their  dwelling,  there  they  are  to  this  day,  and  there  we  sometimes 
still  see  their  forms  in  the  San  Juan  River.164   The  Navahoes  still  go 
there  to  pray,  but  not  for  rain,  or  good  crops,  or  increase  of  stock ; 
only  for  success  in  war,  and  only  the  warriors  go. 


PLATE  VII.     rO'EADZtSTSINI.     (See  pars.  76  and  105  and  note  270.) 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  135 


IV.  GROWTH  OF  THE  NAVAHO  NATION. 

375.  Before  Estsanatlehi  left,  she  said  to  Yo/kai  Estsan :  "Now, 
younger  sister,    I    must   leave   you.      Think  well  what  you  would 
most  like  to  do  after  I  am  gone."     The  younger  sister  replied  :  "I 
would  most  like  to  go  back  to  jttepe'ntsa,  where  our  people  came 
from."     "Alas!   you  will  be  lonely  there,"   said  the  elder  sister. 
"  You  will  want  for  some  one  around  you  to  make  a  noise  and  keep 
you  company."     Still,  when  Estsanatlehi  left,  Yolkai  Estsan  turned 
her  face  toward  Z>epe'ntsa.     She  went  with  the  two  brothers  as  far 
as  Tb'ye'tli,  and,  when  these  stopped  there,  she  set  out  alone  for  the 
mountains. 

376.  When  she  got  to  Ztepe'ntsa  (the  San  Juan  Mountains),  she 
went  first  to  a  place  lying  east  of  //adtfinai  (the  Place  of   Emer- 
gence), named  Dsi//a^i//ehi ;    in  an  old  ruined  pueblo  on  its  side 
she  rested  during  the  day,  and  at  night  she  went  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain   to   sleep.     On  the  second  day  she  went  to  a  mountain 
south  of  the  Place  of  Emergence,  called  Dsi/fn<^i//ehi ;  rested  on 
the  side  of  the  mountain  during  the  day,  and  on  its  top  at  night. 
She  began  now  to  feel  lonely,  and  at  night  she  thought  of  how  men 
might  be  made  to  keep   her  company.      She  wandered  round  in 
thought  during  the  third  day,  and  on  the  third  night  she  slept  on 
top  of  Dsi//agii//ehi,  a  mountain  west  of  //adsrinaf.     On  the  fourth 
day  she  walked  around  the  Place  of  Emergence,  and  wandered  into 
the  old  ruins  she  found  there.     On  the  fourth  night  she  went  to  the 
top  of  Dsi//ini//ez,  the  mountain  which  lies  to  the  north  of  the  Place 
of   Emergence,  and  there  she  rested,   but  did  not  sleep ;  for  she 
thought  all  the  time  about  her  loneliness,  and  of  how  people  might 
be  made.     On  the  fifth  day  she  came  down  to  the  shores  of  the  lake 
which  surrounded  the  Place  of  Emergence,  and  built  a  shelter  of 
brush.     "  I  may  as  well  stay  here,"  she  said  to  herself;  "what  does 
it  avail  that  I  wander  round?  "     She  sat  up  late  that  night  thinking 
of  her  lonely  condition.     She  felt  that  she  could  not  stay  there 
longer  without  companionship.     She  thought  of  her  sister  in  the  far 
west,  of  the  Twelve  People,  of  the  gods  that  dwelt  in  the  different 
mountains,  and  she  thought  she  might  do  well  to  go  and  live  with 
some  of  them. 

377.  The  next  morning  she  heard  faintly,  in  the  early  dawn,  the 
voice  of  //astreyal/i  shouting  his  usual  "  Wu'hu'hu'hu,"  in  the  far 
east.     Four  times  the  cry  was  uttered,  each  time  louder  and  nearer. 
Immediately  after  the  last  call  the  god  appeared.     "  Where  did  you 
save   yourself  ? "    he   asked    the   White    Shell    Woman,    meaning, 
"  Where  were  you,  that  you  escaped  the  anaye  when  they  ravaged 


1 36  Navaho  Legends. 

the  land?"  "  I  was  at  Dsi/nao/i/  with  my  sister,"  she  said;  "but  for 
five  nights  I  have  been  all  alone  in  these  mountains.  I  have  been 
hoping  that  something  might  happen  to  relieve  my  great  loneliness, 
—that  I  might  meet  some  one.  Sitss.i  (Grandfather),  whence  do  you 
come  ? "  He  replied  :  "  I  come  from  Tse'gi'hi,165  the  home  of  the 
gods.  I  pity  your  loneliness  and  wish  to  help  you.  If  you  remain 
where  you  are,  I  shall  return  in  four  days  and  bring  Estsanatlehi, 
the  divine  ones  of  all  the  great  mountains,  and  other  gods,  with  me." 
When  he  left,  she  built  for  herself  a  good  hut  with  a  storm  door. 
She  swept  the  floor  clean,  and  made  a  comfortable  bed  of  soft  grass 
and  leaves. 

378.  At  dawn  on  the  fourth  day  after  the  god  departed,  Yo/kai 
Estsan  heard    two  voices   calling,  —  the  voice  of   //astreyal/i,   the 
Talking  God,  and  the  voice  of  //astj-eV/o^-an,  the  House  God.     The 
voices  were  heard,  as  usual,  four  times,  and  immediately  after1  the 
last  call  the  gods  appeared.     It  was  dark  and  misty  that  day ;  the 
sun  did  not  rise.     Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  two,  the  other 
promised  visitors  came,  and  they  all  formed  themselves  in  a  circle 
east  of  the  lodge,  each  in  the  place  where  he  or  she  belonged.    Thus 
the  divine  ones  of  Tsisnad^i'ni  stood  in  the  east ;  those  of  TsotsT/ 
(San  Mateo  Mountain)  in  the  south ;  those  of  Ztokoslu/  (San  Fran- 
cisco Mountain)  in  the  west ;  those  of  Ztepe'ntsa  (San  Juan  Moun- 
tain) in  the  north.     Each  one  present  had  his  appropriate  place  in 
the  group.    At  first  Yo/kai  Estsan  stood  in  the  west ;  but  her  sister, 
Estsanatlehi,  said  to  her :  "  No,  my  young  sister  ;  go  you  and  stand 
in  the  east.     My  place  is  in  the  west,"  and  thus  they  stood  during 
the  ceremony.     Estsanatlehi  brought  with  her  two  sacred  blankets 
called  Z>i/pi7-naska,  the  Dark  Embroidered,   and    Zakai-naska,  the 
White  Embroidered.     //astre//og-an    brought    with  him  two  sacred 
buckskins,  and  the  Nalkenaas  (a  divine  couple  who  came  together 
walking  arm  in  arm)  brought  two  ears  of   corn,  —  one  yellow,  one 
white,  — which  the  female  carried  in  a  dish  of  turquoise. 

379.  //astreyal/i  laid  the   sacred    blankets    on    the   ground,   and 
spread  on  top  of  these  one  of  the  sacred  buckskins  with  its  head  to 
the  west.     He  took  from  the  dish  of  the  female  Nalkenaa^  the  two 
ears  of  corn,   handing  the  white   ear  to  Tse'ga^nartni  Arike",  the 
Rock  Crystal  Boy  of  the  eastern  mountain,  and  the  yellow  ear  to 
Na^a/tsoi  A/eV,  the  Yellow  Corn   Girl  of  San  Francisco  Mountain. 
These  divine  ones  laid  the  ears  on  the  buckskin, — the  yellow  with 
its  tip  toward  the  west,   the  white  with   its  tip  toward   the   east. 
//astr6yal/i  picked  up  the  ears,  and  nearly  laid  them  down  on  the 
buckskin  with  their  tips  to  the  east,  but  he  did  not  let  them  touch  the 
buckskin ;  as  he  did  this  he  uttered  his  own  cry  of  "  Wu'hu'hu'hu." 
Then  he  nearly  laid  them  down  with  their  tips  to  the  south,  giving 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  137 

as  he  did  so  //astre/jqg-an's  cry  of  "  //a-wa-u-u. "  With  similar  mo- 
tions he  pointed  the  ears  to  the  west  and  the  north.  Next  he  raised 
them  toward  the  sky,  and  at  length  laid  them  down  on  the  buck- 
skin, with  their  tips  to  the  east.  He  accompanied  each  act  with  a 
cry  of  his  own  or  of  //ast^e/^o^an,  alternating  as  in  the  beginning. 
So  the  ears  were  turned  in  every  direction,  and  this  is  the  reason 
the  Navahoes  never  abide  in  one  home  like  the  Pueblos,  but  wander 
ever  from  place  to  place.  Over  the  ears  of  corn  he  laid  the  other 
sacred  buckskin  with  its  head  to  the  east,  and  then  Ni'ltri,  the  Wind, 
entered  between  the  skins.  Four  times,  at  intervals,  //asUeyaM 
raised  the  buckskins  a  little  and  peeped  in.  When  he  looked  the 
fourth  time,  he  saw  that  the  white  ear  of  corn  was  changed  to  a  man, 
and  the  yellow  ear  to  a  woman.  It  was  Ni'ltri  who  gave  them  the 
breath  of  life.  He  entered  at  the  heads  and  came  out  at  the  ends 
of  the  fingers  and  toes,  and  to  this  day  we  see  his  trail  in  the  tip  of 
every  human  finger.  The  Rock  Crystal  Boy  furnished  them  with 
mind,  and  the  Grasshopper  Girl  gave  them  voices.  When  //astye- 
yaki  at  last  threw  off  the  top  buckskin,  a  dark  cloud  descended  and 
covered  like  a  blanket  the  forms  of  the  new  pair.  Yo/kai  Estsan 
led  them  into  her  /zo^-an,  and  the  assembled  gods  dispersed.  Before 
he  left,  //astreyal/i  promised  to  return  in  four  days. 

380.  No  songs  were  sung  and  no  prayers  uttered  during  their 
rites,  and  the  work  was  done  in  one  day.     The  //o^an  near  which  all 
these  things  happened  still  stands  ;  but  since  that  time  it  has  been 
transformed  into  a  little  hill.     To-day  (A.  D.  1884)  seven  times  old 
age  has  killed  since  this  pair  was  made  by  the  holy  ones  from  the 
ears  of  corn.     The  next  very  old  man  who  dies  will  make  the  eighth 
time.166 

381.  Early  on  the  fourth  morning  after  his  departure  //astreyalri 
came  again  as  he  had  promised,  announcing  his  approach  by  calling 
four  times  as  usual.     When  White  Shell  Woman  heard  the  first  call, 
she  aroused  the  young  people  and  said  :  "  Get  up,  my  children,  and 
make  a  fire.     //astreyalA  is  coming."     He  brought  with  him  another 
couple,    //a</a/2onige  Arike   (Mirage  Boy)   and   //a<^a/zonesri</  A/e/ 
(Ground-heat  Girl).     He  gave  Yo/kai  Estsan  two  ears  of  corn,  say- 
ing, "  Grind  only  one  grain  at  a  time,"  and  departed.    Yo/kai  Estsan 
said  to  the  newly-arrived  couple  :  "  This  boy  and  girl  of  corn  cannot 
marry  one  another,  for  they  are  brother  and  sister ;  neither  can  you 
marry  one  another,  for  you  are  also  brother  and  sister,  yet  I  must  do 
something  for  you  all."     So  she  married  the  boy  made  of  corn  to 
the  Ground-heat  Girl,  and  the  Mirage  Boy  to  the  girl  made  of  corn. 
After  a  time  each   couple  had  two  children,  —  a  boy  and  a  girl. 
When  these  were  large  enough  to  run  around,  this  family  all  moved 
away  from  //adsinai,  where  they  had  lived  four  years,  to  Tse'/akai'ia 


1 38  Navaho  Legends. 

(White  Standing  Rock).  The  two  men  were  busy  every  day  hunt- 
ing rabbits,  rats,  and  other  such  animals,  for  on  such  game  they 
chiefly  lived.  From  these  people  are  descended  the  gens  of  Tse'- 
d^mki'ni,167  House  of  the  Dark  Cliffs  ;  so  named  because  the  gods 
who  created  the  first  pair  came  from  the  cliff  houses  of  Tse'gihi, 
and  brought  from  there  the  ears  of  corn  from  which  this  first  pair 
was  made. 

382.  After  they  had  lived  thirteen  years  at  Tse'/akaiia,  during 
which  time  they  had  seen  no  sign  of  the  existence  of  any  people 
but  themselves,  they  beheld  one  night  the  gleam  of  a  distant  fire. 
They  sought  for  the  fire  all  that  night  and  the  next  day,  but 
could  not  find  it.  The  next  night  they  saw  it  again  in  the  same 
place,  and  the  next  day  they  searched  with  greater  vigilance,  but  in 
vain.  On  the  third  night,  when  the  distant  gleam  shone  again 
through  the  darkness,  they  determined  to  adopt  some  means,  better 
than  they  had  previously  taken,  to  locate  it.  They  drove  a  forked 
stick  firmly  into  the  ground ;  one  of  the  men  got  down  on  his  hands 
and  knees,  spreading  them  as  wide  apart  as  possible,  and  sighted 
the  fire  through  the  fork  of  the  stick.  Next  morning  he  carefully 
placed  his  hands  and  knees  in  the  tracks  which  they  had  made  the 
night  before,  and  once  more  looked  through  the  fork.  His  sight 
was  thus  guided  to  a  little  wooded  hollow  on  the  side  of  a  far-off 
mountain.  One  of  the  men  walked  over  to  the  mountain  and  en- 
tered the  little  hollow,  which  was  small  and  could  be  explored  in  a 
few  moments  ;  but  he  discovered  no  fire,  no  ashes,  no  human  tracks, 
no  evidence  of  the  presence  of  man.  On  the  fourth  night  all  the 
adults  of  the  party  took  sight  over  the  forked  stick  at  the  far 
twinkle,  and  in  the  morning  when  they  looked  again  they  found  they 
had  all  sighted  the  same  little  grove  on. the  distant  mountain-side. 
"  Strange! "  said  the  man  who  had  hunted  there  the  day  before  ;  "the 
place  is  small.  I  went  all  through  it  again  and  again.  There  was 
no  sign  of  life  there,  and  not  a  drop  of  water  that  could  reflect  a 
ray  from  a  star  or  from  the  moon."  Then  all  the  males  of  the  fam- 
ily, men  and  boys,  went  to  explore  the  little  wood.  Just  as  they 
were  about  to  return,  having  found  nothing,  Wind  whispered  into 
the  ear  of  one :  "  You  are  deceived.  That  light  shines  through  a 
crack  in  the  mountain  at  night.  Cross  the  ridge  and  you  will  find 
the  fire."  168  They  had  not  gone  far  over  the  ridge  when  they  saw 
the  footprints  of  men,  then  the  footprints  of  children,  and  soon 
they  came  to  the  camp.  One  party  was  as  much  rejoiced  as  the 
other  to  find  people  like  themselves  in  the  wilderness.  They  em- 
braced one  another,  and  shouted  mutual  greetings  and  questions. 
"Whence  do  you  come?"  said  the  strangers.  "  From  Tse'/akaiia," 
was  the  response.  "  And  whence  come  you?"  asked  the  men  of 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  1 39 

the  White  Standing  Rock.  "  We  tarried  last,"  replied  the  strangers, 
"at  Tb'i'n^otsos,  a  poor  country,  where  we  lived  on  ducks  and 
snakes.169  We  have  been  here  only  a  few  days,  and  now  we  live  on 
ground-rats,  prairie-dogs,  and  wild  seeds."  The  new  party  consisted 
of  twelve  persons,  —  five  men,  three  women,  one  grown  girl,  one 
grown  boy,  and  two  small  children.  The  Tse'd^mki'ni  people  took 
the  strangers  home  with  them,  and  Yo/kai  Estsan  welcomed  them, 
saying  :  "  A/zalani  j-a.rt.mii !  "  (Greeting,  my  children  !)  The  place 
where  the  Tse'dstfnkfni  found  the  strangers  encamped  was  called 
Tse'tlana  (Bend  in  a  Canyon)  ;  so  they  gave  them  the  name  of 
Tse'tlani,  or  Tse'tlani^ne',  and  from  them  is  descended  the  pres- 
ent gens  of  Tse'tlani  in  the  Navaho  nation. 

383.  The  next  morning  after  the  arrival  of  the  Tse'tlani,  //ast.re- 
yaUi  came  once  more  to  the  lodge  of  the  White  Shell  Woman  ;  but 
he  talked  with  her  apart  from  the  others,  and  when  he  was  gone  she 
told  no  one  what  he  said.     In  three  days  he  came  back  again  ;  again 
they  talked   apart,   and  when   //asUeyal/i  was  gone   she  remained 
silent.     It  was  her  custom  to  sleep  with  one  of  the  little  girls,  who 
was  her  favorite  and  companion.     In  the  morning  after  the  second 
visit  of  //astreyaM   she   said  to   this  little   girl :    "  I  am   going  to 
leave  you.      The  gods  of  Tse'gi'hi  have  sent  for  me ;  but  I  shall 
not  forget  your  people,  and  shall  come  often  to  watch  over  them  and 
be  near  them.     Tell  them  this  when  they  waken."     When  she  had 
spoken  she  disappeared  from  the  sight  of  the  little  girl,  and  when 
the  people  woke  they  searched,  but  could  find  her  nowhere.     They 
supposed  she  had  gone  to  Tse'gihi  and  tarried  there  a  while  before 
she  went  to  Z)epe'ntsa  to  dwell  forever  in  the  house  of  White  Shell, 
which  had  been  prepared  for  her  there.     The  fourth  night  after  the 
departure  of  Yo/kai  Estsan  the  little  girl  had  a  dream,  which  she 
related  to  her  people  in  the  morning.     In  the  vision  she  saw  Yo/kai 
Estsdn,  who  said  to  her :  "  My  grandchild,  I  am  going  to  Z>epe'ntsa 
to  dwell.     I  would  take  you  with  me,  for  I  love  you,  were  it  not 
that  your  parents  would  mourn  for  you.     But  look  always  for  the 
she-rain  when  it  comes  near  your  dwelling,  for  I  shall  ever  be  in  the 
she-rain." 

384.  While  at  White   Standing    Rock  the  men  wandered  much 
around  the  country  in   search  of  food.     Some  who  had  been   to 
To'dokonzi  (Saline  Water)  said  the  latter  was  a  better  place  than 
than  that  in  which  they  lived ;  that   there  were    some  porcupines 
there,  an   abundance  of  rats,  prairie-dogs,  and  seed-bearing  plants ; 
and  that  there  were  steep-sided  mesa  points  in  the  neighborhood 
where  they  might  surround  large  game.170     After  the  departure  of 
Yo/kai   Estsan   the  people  all   moved    to    7bWoko;m ; m    but   they 
remained  here  only  a  few  days,  and  then  went  to  Tja'olgaY/as^e. 


140  Navaho  Legends. 

Here  they  planted  some  grains  of  corn  from  the  two  ears  that 
//asUeyal/i  had  given  them  long  ago.  This  was  a  very  prolific  kind 
of  corn  ;  when  planted,  several  stalks  sprouted  from  each  grain,  and 
a  single  grain,  when  ground,  produced  a  large  quantity  of  meal, 
which  lasted  them  many  days. 

385.  When  they  had  been  fourteen  years  at  Tra'olga^as^e  they 
were  joined  by  another  people,  who  came  from  the  sacred  mountain 
of  Dsi/nao/i/,  and  were  therefore  called  Dsi/naoH'/ni,  or  Dsi/naotfV- 
a?me'.     These  were  regarded  as  ^/me'  dfigfni,  or  holy  people,  because 
they  had  no  tradition  of  their  recent  creation,  and  were  supposed  to 
have  escaped  the  fury  of  the  alien  gods  by  means  of  some  miracu- 
lous protection.    They  did  not  camp  at  first  with  the  older  settlers, 
but  dwelt  a  little  apart,  and  sent  often  to  the  latter  to  borrow  pots 
and  metates.     After  a  while  all  joined  together  as  one  people,  and 
for  a  long  time  these  three  gentes  have  been  as  one  gens  and  have 
become  close  relations  to  one  another.    The  new-comers  dug  among 
old  ruins  and  found  pots  and  stone  axes ;  with  the  latter  they  built 
themselves  huts. 

386.  Seven  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  Dsi/nao/i7ni  a  fourth 
gens  joined  the  Navahoes.     The  new  arrivals  said  they  had  been 
seeking   for   the    Dsi/nao/i'/ni   all   over  the  land    for  many  years. 
Sometimes  they  would  come  upon  the  dead  bushes  of  old  camps. 
Sometimes  they  would  find  deserted  brush  shelters,  partly  green, 
or,  again,  quite  green  and  fresh.     Occasionally  they  would  observe 
faint  footprints,  and  think  they  were  just  about  to  meet  another 
people  like  themselves  in  the  desolate   land  ;   but  again  all  traces 
of  humanity  would  be  lost.     They  were  rejoiced  to  meet  at  last  the 
people  they  so  long  had  sought.     The  new-comers  camped  close  to 
the    Dsi/nao^iVni,  and  discovered  that  they  and  the  latter  carried 
similar  red  arrow-holders,172  such  as  the  other  gentes  did  not  have, 
and  this  led  them  to  believe  that  they  were  related  to  the  Dsi/nao- 
/iVni.     The  Navahoes  did  not  then  make  large  skin  quivers  such 
as  they  have  in  these  days ;  they  carried  their  arrows  in  simpler 
contrivances.     The  strangers    said   that   they  came   from    a   place 
called  //aAan^atso  (much  Yucca  baccatd),  and  that  they  were  the 

',  or  Yucca  People  ;  but  the  older  gentes  called  them 
or  //ajkan/^atso^ine',    from   the   place   whence    they 
came.173 

387.  Fourteen  years  after  the  accession  of  the  fourth  gens,  the 
Navahoes  moved  to  Kintyel  (which  was  then  a  ruin),  in  the  Chaco 
Canyon.     They  camped  there  at  night  in  a  scattering  fashion,  and 
made    so    many   fires    that   they   attracted   the   attention    of   some 
strangers  camped  on  a  distant  mountain,  and  these  strangers  came 
down  next  day  to  find  out  who  the  numerous  people  were  that  kin- 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  141 

died  so  many  fires.  As  the  strangers,  who  were  also  ^/me*  ^/Tgfni, 
or  holy  people,  said  they  came  from  Na/zopa  (Place  of  the  Brown 
Horizontal  Streak),  the  Navahoes  called  them  Na/^opani.  They 
joined  the  tribe,  camping  near  the  //ajkan//atso  and  Dsi/nao/i'/ni. 

388.  It  was  autumn  when  the  fifth  gens  was  received.     Then  the 
whole  tribe  moved  to  the  banks  of  the  San  Juan  River  and  settled 
at  a  place  called  Tsm/6'betlo 174  (Tree  Sweeping  Water),  where  a 
peculiar  white  tree  hangs  over  the  stream  and  sweeps  the  surface  of 
the  water  with  its  long  branches  :  there  is  no  other  tree  of  its  kind 
near  by.     Here  they  determined  to  remain  some  time  and  raise 
crops ;  so  they  built  warm  huts  for  the  winter,  and  all  the  fall  and 
winter,  when  the  days  were  fair,  they  worked  in  the  bottom-lands 
grubbing  up  roots  and  getting  the  soil    ready  for  gardens   to  be 
planted  in  the  spring.     The  elder  gentes  camped  farther  down  the 
stream  than  those  more  newly  arrived. 

389.  In  those  days  the  language  which  the  Navahoes  spoke  was 
not  the  same  they  speak  now.     It  was  a  poor  language  then  ;  it  is 
better  in  these  days. 

390.  When  the  tribe  had  been  living  six  years  on  the  banks  of  the 
San  Juan,  a  band  joined  them  who  came  from  Tsi'nad-s-m  175  (Black 
Horizontal  Forest),   and  were  named  as   a   gens   from    the   place 
whence   they  came.     The    Navahoes  observed   that   in   this   band 
there  was  a  man  who  talked  a  great  deal  to  the  people  almost  every 
morning  and  evening.     The  Navahoes  did  not  at  first  understand 
what  this  meant ;   but  after  a  while  they  learned  he  spoke  to  his 
people  because  he  was  their  chief.     His  name  was  Nabmil/ahi. 

391.  While  living  at  the  San  Juan  the  people  amused  themselves 
much  with  games.      They  played  mostly  nan^o^76  in  the  daytime 
and  ke'siUe  176  at  night.    They  had  as  yet  no  horses,  domestic  sheep, 
or  goats.     They  rarely  succeeded  in  killing  deer  or  Rocky  Moun- 
tain sheep.     When  they  secured  deer  it  was  sometimes  by   still- 
hunting  them,  sometimes    by  surrounding  one  and  making  it  run 
till  it  was  exhausted,  and  sometimes  by  driving  them  over  preci- 
pices.    When  a  man  got  two  skins  of  these  larger  animals  he  made 
a  garment  of  them  by  tying  the  fore-legs  together  over  his  shoul- 
ders.   The  woman  wore  a  garment  consisting  of  two  webs  of  woven 
cedar  bark,  one  hanging  in  front  and  one  behind ;  all  wore  sandals  of 
yucca  fibre  or  cedar  bark.     They  had  headdresses  made  of  weasel- 
skins  and  rat-skins,   with  the  tails  hanging  down  behind.     These 
headdresses  were  often  ornamented  with  colored    artificial  horns, 
made  out  of  wood,  or  with  the  horns  of  the  female  mountain  sheep 
shaved  thin.     Their  blankets  were  made  of  cedar  bark,  of  yucca 
fibre,  or  of  skins  sewed  together.177     Each  house  had,  in  front  of  the 
door,  a  long  passageway,  in  which  hung  two  curtains,  —  one  at  the 


142  Navaho  Legends. 

outer,  the  other  at  the  inner  end,  —  made  usually  of  woven  cedar 
bark.  In  winter  they  brought  in  plenty  of  wood  at  night,  closed 
both  curtains,  and  made  the  house  warm  before  they  went  to  sleep. 
Their  bows  were  of  plain  wood  then  ;  the  Navahoes  had  not  yet 
learned  to  put  animal  fibre  on  the  backs  of  the  bows.178  Their 
arrows  were  mostly  of  reeds  tipped  with  wood ;  but  some  made 
wooden  arrows.180  The  bottom-land  which  they  farmed  was  sur- 
rounded by  high  bluffs,  and  hemmed  in  up-stream  and  down-stream 
by  jutting  bluffs  which  came  close  to  the  river.  After  a  time  the 
tribe  became  too  numerous  for  all  to  dwell  and  farm  on  this  spot,  so 
some  went  up  in  the  bluffs  to  live  and  built  stone  storehouses  in 
the  cliffs,179  while  others  —  the  Tslnadsi'ni  —  went  below  the  lower 
promontory  to  make  gardens.  Later  yet,  some  moved  across  the 
San  Juan  and  raised  crops  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream.180 

392.  Eight  years  after  the  coming  of  the  Tsinad.si'ni,  some  fires 
were  observed  at  night  on  a  distant  eminence  north  of  the  river,  and 
spies  were  sent  out  to  see  who  made  them.     The  spies  brought 
back  word  that  they  had  found  a  party  of  strangers  encamped  at  a 
place  called   7Y/a'neza',  Among  the  Scattered  (Hills).     Soon  after, 
this  party  came  in  and  joined  the  Navahoes,  making  a  new  gens, 
which  was  called   77/a'neza'ni.     The  strangers  said  they  were  de- 
scended from  the  //a^a^onige^me',  or  Mirage  People.     The  remains 
of  their  old  huts  are  still  to  be  seen  at  T^a'neza'. 

393.  Five  years  after  the  T^a'neza'ni  were  added,  another  people 
joined  the  tribe  ;  but  what  gods  sent  them  none  could  tell.     They 
came  from  a  place  called  Dsi/tla'  (Base  of   Mountain),   and  were 
given  the  name  of  Dsi/tla'ni.     As  they  had  headdresses,  bows,  ar- 
rows, and  arrow-holders    similar  to  those  of   the   77/a'neza'ni  they 
concluded  they  must  be  related  to  the  latter.     Ever  since,  these 
two  gentes  have  been  very  close  friends,  —  so  close  that  a  member 
of  one  cannot  marry  a  member  of  the  other.     The  Dsi/tla'ni  knew 
how  to  make  wicker   water-bottles,  carrying-baskets,   and  earthen 
pots,  and  they  taught  their  arts  to  the  rest  of  the  people. 

394.  Five  years  later,  they  were  joined  on  the   San  Juan  by  a 
numerous  band  who  came  originally  from  a  place  called   ZTia'paha- 
^alkaf,  White  Valley  among  the  Waters,  which  is  near  where  the 
city  of  Santa  Fe  now  stands.     These  people  had  long  viewed  in  the 
western  distance  the  mountains  where  the  Navahoes  dwelt,  wonder- 
ing if  any  one  lived  there,  and  at  length   decided  to   go  thither. 
They  journeyed  westward  twelve  days  till  they  reached  the  moun- 
tains, and  they  spent  eight  days  travelling  among  them  before  they 
encountered  the  Navahoes.     Then  they  settled  at  TViWotsos  and 
lived  there  twelve  years,  subsisting  on  ducks  and  fish,169  but  making 
no  farms.     All  this  time  they  were  friendly  to  the  Navahoes  and 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  143 

exchanged  visits ;  but,  finding  no  special  evidences  of  relationship 
with  the  latter,  they  dwelt  apart.  When  at  length  they  came  to  the 
San  Juan  to  live,  marriages  had  taken  place  between  members  of 
the  two  tribes,  and  the  people  from  Among  the  Waters  became  a 
part  of  the  Navaho  nation,  forming  the  gens  of  TM'paha.  They 
settled  at  a  place  called  HyieVym  (Trails  Leading  Upward),  close  to 
the  Navahoes.  Here  was  a  smooth,  sandy  plain,  which  they  thought 
would  be  good  for  farming,  and  the  chief,  whose  name  was  Gontso, 
or  Big  Knee,  had  stakes  set  around  the  plain  to  show  that  his 
people  claimed  it.  The  people  of  the  new  gens  were  goo.d  hunters, 
skilled  in  making  weapons  and  beautiful  buckskin  shirts,  and  they 
taught  their  arts  to  the  other  gentes. 

395.  The  77/a'paha  then  spoke  a  language  more  like  the  modern 
Navaho  than  that  which  the  other  gentes  spoke.     The  languages 
were  not  alike.     The  chief  of  the  Tsmad^i'ni  and  Gontso   often 
visited  one  another  at  night,  year  after  year,  for  the  purpose  of 
uniting  the  two  languages  and  picking  out  the  words  in  each  that 
were  best.     But  the  words  of  the   TM'paha  were  usually  the  best 
and  plainest ; 182  so  the  new  language  resembles  the  77/a'paha  more 
than  it  resembles  the  old  Navaho. 

396.  While  the  T^a'paha  lived  at  HyieVym  they  had  always  abun- 
dant crops, — better  crops  than  their  neighbors  had.     Sorrfetimes 
they  could  not  harvest  all  they  raised,  and  let  food  lie  ungathered  in 
the  field.      They  built    stone    storehouses,   something   like  pueblo 
houses,  among  the  cliffs,  and  in  these  stored  their  corn.     The  store- 
houses stand  there  yet.     The  77/a'paha  remained  at  HyieVym  thir- 
teen years,  during  which  time  many  important  events  occurred,  as 
will  be  told,  and  then  they  moved  to  Azafeltrigi. 

397.  Gontso  had  twelve  wives  ;  four  of  these  were  from  the  gens 
of  Tsmadzi'ni,  four  from  the  gens  of  Dsi/tla'ni,  and  four  from  the 
gens  of  77*a'neza'ni.     He  used  to  give  much  grain  from  his  abun- 
dant harvests  to  the  gentes  to  which  his  wives  belonged ;  but,  in 
spite  of  his  generosity,  his  wives  were  unfaithful  to  him.     He  com- 
plained to  their  relations  and  to  their  chiefs  ;  these  remonstrated 
with  the  wives,  but  failed  to  improve  their  ways.     At  last  they  lost 
patience  with  the  women  and  said  to  Gontso  :  "  Do  with  them  as 
you  will.     We  shall  not  interfere."     So  the  next  wife  whom  he 
detected  in  crime  he  mutilated  in  a  shameful  way,  and  she  died  in 
consequence.    He  cut  off  the  ears  of  the  next  transgressor,  and  she, 
too,  died.     He  amputated  the  breasts  of  the  third  wife  who  offended 
him,  and  she  died  also.      He  cut  off  the  nose  of  the  fourth ;  she  did 
not  die.     He  determined  then    that   cutting  the   nose    should,  in 
future,  be  the  greatest  punishment  imposed  on  the  faithless  wife,  — 
something  that  would  disfigure  but  not  kill,  —  and  the  rest  of  the 


144  Navaho  Legends. 

people  agreed  with  him.183  But  this  had  no  effect  on  the  remaining 
wives ;  they  continued  to  lapse  from  virtue  till  all  were  noseless. 
Then  they  got  together  and  began  to  plot  mischief  against  their 
husband,  Big  Knee.  They  spoke  so  openly  of  their  evil  intentions 
that  he  feared  to  let  any  of  them  stay  in  his  lodge  at  night  and  he 
slept  alone. 

398.  About  this  time  the  people  determined  to  have  a  great  cere- 
mony for  the  benefit  of  Big  Knee  ;  so  they  made  great  preparations 
and  held  a  rite  of  nine  days'  duration.184     During  its  progress  the 
mutilated  .women  remained  in  a  hut  by  themselves,  and  talked  about 
the  unkindness  of  their  people  and  the  vengeance  due  to  their  hus- 
band.    They  said  one  to  another :    "  We  should  leave  our  people 
and  go  elsewhere."     On  the  last  night  of  the  ceremony  there  was  a 
series  of  public  exhibitions  in  a  corral,  or  circle  of  branches,  such  as 
the  Navahoes  have  now  on  the  last  night  of  the  ceremony  of  the 
mountain  chant,185  and  among  the  different  alili,  or  entertainments 
of  the  night,  was  a  dance  by  the  mutilated  women.     When  their 
time  came  they  entered  the  circle,  each  bearing  a  knife  in  her  hand, 
and  danced  around  the  central  fire,  peering  among  the  spectators  as 
if  searching  for  their  husband ;  but  he  was  hidden  in  the  wall  of 
branches  that  formed  the  circle.     As  they  danced  they  sang  a  song 
the  burden  of  which  was  "  Pejla  a^ila."     (It  was  the  knife  that  did 
it  to  me.)     When  they  had  finished  their  dance  they  left  the  corral, 
and,  in  the  darkness  without,  screamed  maledictions  at  their  peo- 
ple, saying  :  "  May  the  waters  drown  ye  !     May  the  winters  freeze 
ye !     May  the  fires  burn  ye  !     May  the  lightnings  strike  ye  !  "  and 
much   more.     Having   cursed   till   they  were   tired,  they   departed 
for  the  far  north,  where  they  still  dwell,  and  now,  whenever  they 
turn  their  faces  to  the  south,  we  have  cold  winds  and  storms  and 
lightning. 

399.  Not  long  after  this  memorable  ceremony  a  number  of  Utes 
visited  the  Navahoes.     They  came  when  the  corn-ears  were  small, 
and  remained  till  the  corn  was  harvested.     They  worked  for  the 
Navahoes,  and  when  their  stomachs  were  filled  all  left  except  one 
family,   which   consisted  of   an  old   couple,   two   girls,   and  a  boy. 
These  at  first  intended  to  stay  but  a  short  time  after  their  friends 
had  gone;  but  they  tarried  longer  and  longer,  and  postponed  their 
going  from  time  to  time,  till  they  ended  by  staying  with  the  Na.va- 
hoes  till  they  died.    They  made  particular  friends  with  the  T^a'paha, 
and  got  into  the  way  of  speaking  to  the  latter  people  as  they  would 
to  relations.     One  of  the  girls,  whose  name  was  Tsa'yiski^  (Sage- 
Brush  Hill),  lived  to  be  an  old  woman  and  the  mother  of  many  chil- 
dren.    From  her  is  descended  the  gens  of  Tsa'yiskiVni,  which  is  so 
closely  allied  to  the  TM'paha  that  a  member  of  one  of  these  gentes 
may  not  marry  a  member  of  the  other. 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  145 

400.  Soon  after  the  departure   of   the  Utes  the  Navahoes  were 
joined  by  a  group  of  people  who,  when  they  came  to  tell  their  story, 
were  found  to  have  come  from   T^a'paha-^alkai,  and  to  have  made 
wanderings  similar  to  those  of  the  people  who  first  came  from  that 
place.     The   new   people   spoke,  also,  the   same   language   as   the 
77/a'paha.    For  these  reasons  they  were  not  formed  into  a  new  gens, 
but  were  joined  to  the  gens  of  T^a'paha. 

401.  Some  years  later  a  large  band  came  from  the  south  to  the 
settlement  on  the  San  Juan.     It  consisted  of  Apaches,  who  told  the 
Navahoes  that  they  had  left  their  old  tribe  forever  and  desired  to 
become  Navahoes.     They  had  not  come  to  visit,  they  said,  but  to 
stay.     They  all  belonged  to  one  gens  among  the  Apaches,  —  the 
gens  of  Tse'sinafiaf  (Trap-dyke),186  and  they  were  admitted  into  the 
tribe  as  a  new  gens  with  their  old  name.     From  the  beginning  they 
showed  a  desire  to  associate   with    TM'paha,   and    now   they  are 
closely  related  to  the  latter  and  must  not  marry  with  them.     An- 
other band  of  Apaches,  which  came  a  little  later,  was  added  to  the 
same  gens. 

402.  About  this  time  there  was  a  great  famine  in  Zuni,  and  some 
people  from  this  pueblo  came  to  the  San  Juan  to  dwell  with  the 
Navahoes.     They  came  first  to  the  Tyza'paha,  and,  although  they  had 
women  in  the  party,  they  were  not  formed  into  a  new  gens,  but 
added  to  77/a'paha.     The  gens  of  Zuni  was  formed  later. 

403.  The  famine  prevailed  also  at  other  pueblos,  and  some  starv- 
ing people  came  to  the  Navahoes  from  an  old  pueblo  named  Klogi, 
which  was  near  where  the  pueblo  of  Jemez  now  stands.     These 
formed  the  gens  of  Klogi,  and  made  special  friends  of  the  TM'paha. 

404.  The  next  accession  was  a  family  of  seven  adults,  who  came 
from  a  place  called   To'^ani  (Near  the  Water).     They  first  visited 
the  Dsi/tla'ni  and  remained,  forming  the  gens  of  ToV/ani,  affiliated 
now  with  Dsi/tla/ni. 

405.  The  people  who  joined  the  Navahoes  next  after  the  To'/^ani 
came   from    a   place   called    T^a'Ui,   Among   the    Red  (Waters    or 
Banks),  which  was  west  of  the  San  Juan  settlement.     From  their 
traditions  it  appeared  that  they  were  not  a  newly  created  people ; 
they  had  escaped  in  some  way  from  the  alien  gods,  and  were  for 
these  reasons  regarded  as^/ine'  digmi,  or  holy  people.     They  were 
divided  into  two  gentes,  T/za'tsini  and  KaiWine',  or  Willow  People, 
and  for  a  while  they  formed  two  gentes  among  the  Navahoes  ;  but 
in  these  days  all  traces  of  this  division  have  been  lost,  and  all  their 
descendants  are  now  called,  without  distinction,  sometimes  T^a'trini 
and  sometimes  Kai  or  KaiVme'. 

406.  Before  this  time  the  Navahoes  had  been  a  weak  and  peace- 
able tribe ;  but  now  they  found  themselves   becoming  a  numerous 


146  Navaho  Legends. 

people  and  they  began  to  talk  of  going  to  war.  Of  late  years  they 
had  heard  much  of  the  great  pueblos  along  the  Rio  Grande,  but 
how  their  people  had  saved  themselves  from  the  anaye  the  Nava- 
hoes  did  not  know.  A  man  named  Napailm/a  got  up  a  war  party 
and  made  a  raid  on  a  pueblo  named  Km/itri  (Red  House),  and 
returned  with  some  captives,  among  whom  was  a  girl  captured  by 
Napai'lln/a.  From  her  is  descended  the  gens  of  Kin/itn,  whose 
members  are  now  close  relations  to  Tsmad-s-fni  (the  gens  of  Napai- 
Im/a),  and  cannot  intermarry  with  the  latter. 

407.  The  captives  from  KTn/it^i  were,  at  first,  slaves  among  the 
Navahoes ; 187    but    their   descendants    became   free   and   increased 
greatly,  and  from  them  came  another  gens,  Tlizi/ani,  Many  Goats, 
also  closely  related  to  Tsmad^fni. 

408.  Next  in  order  came  a  band  of  Apaches  from  the  south  repre- 
senting two  gentes,  —  _Z?estnni  (Red  Streak  People),  and  Tlastn'ni 
(Red  Flat  Ground  People).     These  were  adopted  by  the  Navahoes 
as  two  separate  gentes  and  became  close  relations  to  the  Tsmad^i'ni. 

409.  Not  long  after  the  arrival  of  these  Apaches  some  Utes  came 
into  the  neighborhood  of  the  Navahoes,  camping  at  a  place  called 
Tse^di'yikani  (a  ridge  or  promontory  projecting  into  the  river),  not 
far  from  Hyie/ym.    They  had  good  arms  of  all  kinds,  and  two  varie- 
ties of  shields,  —  one  round  and  one  with  a  crescentic  cut  in  the  top. 
They  lived  for  a  while  by  themselves,  and  were  at  first  unruly  and 
impertinent ;  but  in  the  course  of  time  they  merged  into  the  Nava- 
hoes, forming  the  gens  of  No/a  or  No/a</ine',  Ute  People. 

410.  About  the  time  they  were  incorporated  by  the  Navahoes, 
or  soon  after,  a  war  party  of  the  Utes  made  a  raid  on  a  Mexican 
settlement,   somewhere  near  where   Socorro  now  is,  and  captured 
a  Spanish  woman.     She  was  their  slave ;  but  her  descendants  be- 
came free  among  the  Navahoes  and  formed  the  NakaiVine'  (White 
Stranger  People),  or  Mexican  gens,  who  cannot  now  intermarry  with 
No/a^me'. 

411.  Gontso,  or  Big  Knee,  chief  of  the  TTia'paha,  was  still  alive 
and  was  a  famous  old  man  ;  but  he  had  become  feeble  and  had  many 
ailments.    There  was  a  great  ceremony  practised  in  those  days  called 
natri'd,  which  lasted  all  winter,184 from  harvest-time  to  planting-time; 
but  the  Navahoes  have  long  ceased  to  celebrate  it.     This  ceremony 
was  held  one  winter  for  the  benefit  of  Big  Knee  at  the  sacred  place 
of  Tb'ye'tli,  the  home  of  the  War  Gods.     One  night,  while  the  rites 
were  being  performed,  some  strangers  joined  the  Navahoes  coming 
from   the  direction  of  the  river.     Adopted  by  the  Navahoes,  they 
formed  the  gens  of  Tb'yetlini,  and  became  closely  allied  to  No/a^me' 
and  NakaiWme*. 

412.  On  another  occasion  during  the  same  winter  some  Apaches 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  147 

came  from  their  country  in  the  south  to  witness  the  ceremony  of 
natn'd.  Among  the  women  of  the  77/a'paha  was  one  who  visited 
the  Apache  camp  and  remained  all  night  there.  She  became  attached 
to  an  Apache  youth,  with  whom  she  secretly  absconded  when  the 
visitors  left.  For  a  long  time  her  people  did  not  know  what  had 
become  of  her ;  but  many  years  after,  learning  where  she  was,  some 
of  her  relations  went  to  the  Apache  country  to  persuade  her  to 
return.  She  came  back  an  old  woman,  bringing  her  husband  and  a 
family  of  three  girls.  The  girls  were  handsome,  had  light  skins  and 
fair  hair.  Their  grandmother,  who  admired  them*  very  much,  insisted 
that  a  new  gens  should  be  made  of  them.  So  they  were  called 
//altso,  Yellow  Bodies,188  and  originated  the  gens  of  that  name. 
Their  father  died  an  old  man  among  the  Navahoes. 

413.  On  another  night  of  the  same  winter,  while  the  ceremony 
for  Big  Knee  was  going  on,  two  strange  men,  speaking  the  Navaho 
language,  entered  the  camp.     They  said  they  were  the  advanced 
couriers  of  a  multitude  of  wanderers  who  had  left  the  shores  of  the 
great  waters  in  the  west  to  join  the  Navahoes.     You  shall  now  hear 
the  story  of  the  people  who  came  from  the  western  ocean  :  — 

414.  Surrounding   Estsanatlehi's   home  were  four  mountains,  lo- 
cated like  those  at  the  Place  of  Emergence  — one  in  the  east,  one 
in  the  south,  one  in  the  west,  and  one  in  the  north.     She  was  in  the 
habit  of  dancing  on  these  mountains,  —  on  the  mountain  in  the  east 
to  bring  clouds  ;  on  the  mountain  in  the  south,  to  bring  all  kinds  of 
goods,  — jewels,  clothing,  etc.  ;  on  the  mountain  in  the  west,  to  bring 
plants  of  all  kinds ;  ajnd  on  the  mountain  in  the  north,  to  bring  corn 
and  animals.     On  these  journeys  for  dancing  she  passed  from  the 
east  mountain  to  the  south,  the  west,  and  the  north  mountain,  the 
way  the  sun  goes  ;  and  when  she  was  done  dancing  on  the  north 
mountain  she  retraced  her  course  (without  crossing  it)  to  the  east  ; 
but  she  never  completed  the  circle,  /.  e.,  she  never  passed  from  the 
north  directly  to  the  east.     Over  the  space  between  the  north  and 
the  east  mountains  she  never  travelled.     This  is  the  way  her  trail 
lay  :  — 


148  Navaho  Legends. 


Fig.  33.     Trail  of  Estsanatlehi. 

415.  Estsanatlehi  had  not  been  long  in  her  western  home  when 
she  began  to  feel  lonely.  She  had  no  companions  there.  The 
people  who  had  accompanied  her  thither  did  not  stay  with  her.  She 
thought  she  might  make  people  to  keep  her  company,  so  one  day, 
when  she  had  completed  one  of  her  dancing  journeys,  she  sat  down 
on  the  eastern  mountain.  Here  she  rubbed  epidermis  from  under 
her  left  arm  with  her  right  hand ;  she  held  this  in  her  palm  and  it 
changed  into  four  persons,  —  two  men  and  two  women,  —  from  whom 
descended  a  gens  to  which  no  name  was  then  given,  but  which  after- 
terwards  (as  will  be  told)  received  the  name  of  //onaga'ni.  She 
rubbed  the  epidermis  with  her  left  hand  from  under  her  right  arm, 
held  it  in  her  palm  as  before,  and  it  became  two  men  and  two 
women,  from  whom  descended  the  gens  afterwards  known  as  Ki«- 
aa'ni.  In  a  similar  way,  of  epidermis  rubbed  from  under  her  left 
breast  she  created  four  people,  from  whom  descended  the  gens  later 
known  as  Tb'dityini ;  of  epidermis  from  under  her  right  breast,  four 
persons,  from  whom  descended  the  gens  called  Bi/ani ;  of  epidermis 
from  the  middle  of  her  chest,  the  four  whose  descendants  were  called 
//a^/i^ni ;  and  of  epidermis  from  her  back  between  her  shoulders, 
the  four  whose  descendants  were  called  Bi/a'ni  in  later  times. 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  149 

416.  She  said  to  these:  "I  wish  you  to  dwell  near  me,  where  I 
can  always  see  you ;  but  if  you  choose  to  go  to  the  east,  where  your 
kindred  dwell,  you  may  go."     She  took  them  from  her  floating  home 
to  the  mainland  ;  here  they  lived  for  thirty  years,  during  which  time 
they  married  and  had  many  children.     At  the  end  of  this  time  the 
Twelve  People  (Z>me'  Naki^a/a),  or  rather  what  was  left  of  them, 
appeared  among  Estsanatlehi's  people  and  said  to  them  :  "  We  have 
lost  our  sister  who  kept  our  house  for  us ;  we  have  no  home  ;  we 
know  not  where  else  to  go  ;  so  we  have  come  here  to  behold  our 
mother,  our  grandmother.     You  have  kindred  in  the  far  east  who 
have  increased  until  they  are  now  a  great  people.     We  do  not  visit 
them,  but  we  stand  on  the  mountains  and  look  at  them  from  afar. 
We  know  they  would  welcome  you  if  you  went  to  them."    And  many 
more  things  they  told  about  the  people  in  the  far  east. 

417.  Now  all  crossed  on  a  bridge  of  rainbow  to  the  house  of  Estsa- 
natlehi  on  the  sea,  where  she  welcomed  them  and  embraced  them. 
Of  the  Z>me'  Naki^/a/a  but  ten  were  left,  for,  as  has  been  told,  they 
lost  their  sister  and  their  younger  brother ;  but  when  they  came  to 
the  home  of  Estsanatlehi  she  made  for  them  two  more  people  out 
of  turquoise,  and  this  completed  their  original  number  of  twelve. 
She  knew  with  what  thoughts  her  children  had  come.     She  opened 
four  doors  leading  from  the  central  chamber  of  her  house  into  four 
other  rooms,  and  showed  them  her  various  treasures,  saying :  "  Stay 
with  me  always,  my  children  ;  these  things  shall  be  yours,  and  we 
shall  be  always  happy  together." 

418.  When  the  people  went  back  from  the  house  of  Estsanatlehi 
to  the  mainland,  all  was  gossip  and  excitement  in  their  camp  about 
what  they  had  heard  of  the  people  in  the  east.     Each  one  had  a  dif- 
ferent part  or  version  of  the  tale  to  tell,  —  of  how  the  people  in  the 
east  lived,  of  what  they  ate,  of  the  way  in  which  they  were  divided 
into  gentes,   of  how  the  gentes  were  named,  and  of  other  things 
about  them  they  had  heard.     "The  people  are  few  where  we  live," 
they  said;    "we  would  be  better  off  where  there  are  so  many." 
They  talked  thus  for  twelve  days.     At  the  end  of  that  time  they 
concluded  to  depart,  and  they  fixed  the  fourteenth  day  after  that  as 
the  day  they  should  leave. 

419.  Before  they  left,  the  Z>ine'  Naki^a/a  and  Estsanatlehi  came 
to  see  them.     She  said  :  "  It  is  a  long  and  dangerous  journey  to 
where  you  are  going.     It  is  well  that  you  should  be  cared  for  and 
protected  on  the  way.     I  shall  give  you  five  of  my  pets,189  —  a  bear, 
a  great  snake,  a  deer,  a  porcupine,  and  a  puma,  —  to  watch  over  you. 
They  will  not  desert  you.     Speak  of  no  evil  deeds  in  the  presence 
of  the  bear  or  the  snake,  for  they  may  do  the  evil  they  hear  you 
speak  of ;  but  the  deer  and  the  porcupine  are  good,  —  say  whatever 
you  please  to  say  in  their  presence." 


1 50  Navaho  Legends. 

420.  Besides  these  pets  she  gave  them  five   magic  wands.     To 
those  who  were  afterwards  named  //bnaga'ni  she  gave  a  wand  of 
turquoise ;  to  those  who  later  were  called  Ki/zaa'ni,  a  wand  of  white 
shell ;  to  those  who  became  TVditnni,  a  wand  of  haliotis  shell ;  to 
those  who  became  Bi/a'ni,  a  wand  of  black  stone  ;  and  to  those  who 
in  later  days  became  Husll'sm,  a  wand  of  red  stone.     "  I  give  you 
these  for  your  protection,"  she  said,  "  but  I  shall  watch  over  you 
myself  while  you  are  on  your  journey." 

421.  On  the  appointed  day  they  set  out  on  their  journey.     On  the 
twelfth  day  of  their  march  they  crossed  a  high  ridge  and  came  in 
sight  of  a  great  treeless  plain,  in  the  centre  of  which  they  observed 
some  dark  objects  in  motion.     They  could  not  determine  what  they 
were,  but  suspected  they  were  men.     They  continued  their  journey, 
but  did  not  directly  approach  the  dark  objects  ;  they  moved  among 
the  foothills  that  surrounded  the  plain,  and  kept  under  cover  of  the 
timber.     As  they  went  along  they  discerned  the  dark  objects  more 
plainly,  and  discovered  that  these  were  indeed  human  beings.    They 
got  among  the  foothills  to  one  side  of  where  the  strangers  were, 
and  camped  in  the  woods  at  night. 

422.  In  spite  of  all  the  precautions  taken  by  the  travellers,  they 
had  been  observed  by  the  people  of  the  plain,  and  at  night  two  of 
the  latter  visited  their  camp.     The  visitors  said  they  were  Ki/tsoi, 
or  Ki/tsok/ine'  (People  of  the  Bigelovia  graveolens)  ;  that  their  tribe 
was  numerous ;  that  the  plain  in  which  they  dwelt  was  extensive  ; 
and  that  they  had  watermelons   getting  ripe,  with  corn  and  other 
food,  in  their  gardens.     The  people  of  the  west  concluded  to  remain 
here  a  while.     The  second  night  they  had  two  more  visitors,  one  of 
whom  became  enamored  of    a  maiden  among  the  wanderers,  and 
asked  for  her  in  marriage.     Her  people  refused  him  at  first ;  but 
when  he  came  the  second  night  and  begged  for  her  again,  they  gave 
her  to  him.     He  stayed  with  her  in  the  camp  of  her  people  as  long 
as  they  remained  in  the  valley,  except  the  last  two  nights,  when  she 
went  and  stayed  with  his  people.     These  gave  an  abundance  of  the 
produce  of  their  fields  to  the  wanderers,  and  the  latter  fared  well. 
When  the  travellers  were  prepared  to  move,  they  implored  the  young 
husband  to  go  with  them,  while  he  begged  to  have  his  wife  remain 
with  him  in  the  valley.     They  argued  long  ;  but  in  the  end  the 
woman's  relations  prevailed,  and  the  Ki/tsoi  man  joined  them  on 
their  journey.     In  the  mean  time  four  other  men  of   Ki/tsoi  had 
fallen  in  love  with  maidens  of  the  wanderers,  and  asked  for  them  in 
marriage.     The  migrating  band  refused  to  leave  the  girls  behind, 
so  the  enamored  young  men  left  their  kindred  and  joined  the  trav- 
ellers.    The  KT/tsoi  tried  to  persuade  the  others  to  dwell  in  their 
land  forever,  but  without  avail. 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  151 

423.  They  broke  camp  at  last  early  in  the  morning,  and  travelled 
all  day.     At  night  *  a  great  wind  arose,  and  the  bear  would  not  rest, 
but  ran  around  the  camp  all  night,  uneasy  and  watchful.     The  men 
looked  out  and  saw  some  of  the  Ki/tsoi  trying  to  approach  ;  but  the 
bear  warded  them  off  and  they  disappeared  without  doing  harm. 
In  the  morning  it  was  found  that  the  men  of  the  Ki/tsoi  who  had 
joined  them  on  their  journey  had  now  deserted  them,  and  it  was  sup- 
posed that  in  some  way  they  were  in  league  with  their  brethren 
outside. 

424.  The  second  day  they  journeyed  far,  and  did  not  make  camp 
until  after  dark.     As  on  the  previous  night,  the  bear  was  awake, 
watchful,  and  uneasy  all  night.     They  supposed  he  was  still  looking 
out  for  lurking  Ki/tsoi.     Not  until  daybreak  did  he  lie  down  and 
take  a  little  sleep  while  the    people  were  preparing  for  the  day's 
march. 

425.  On  the  third  night  the  bear  was  again  wakeful  and  on  guard, 
and  only  lay  down  in  the  morning  while  the  people  were  breaking 
camp.     "  My  pet,  why  are  you  troubled  thus  every  night  ? "  said  one 
of  the  men  to  the  bear.     The  latter  only  grunted  in  reply,  and  made 
a  motion  with  his  nose  in  the  direction  whence  they  had  come. 

426.  On  the  fourth   night  they  camped,  for  mutual  protection, 
closer  together  than  they  had  camped  before.     The  bear  sat  on  a 
neighboring  hill,  from  which  he  could  watch  the  sleepers,  but  slept 
not  himself  all  night.     As  before,  he  took  a  short  sleep  in  the  morn- 
ing.    Before  the  people  set  out  on  their  march  some  one  said :  "  Let 
us  look  around  and  see  if  we  can  find  what  has  troubled  our  pet." 
They  sent  two  couriers  to  the  east  and  two  to  the  west.    The  former 
returned,  having  found  nothing.      The    latter   said  they  had   seen 
strange  footprints,  as  of  people  who  had  approached  the  camp  and 
then  gone  back  far  to  the  west.     Their  pursuers,  they  thought,  had 
returned  to  their  homes. 

427.  They  had  now  been  four  days  without  finding  water,  and  the 
children  were  crying  with  thirst.     On  the  fifth  day's  march  they 
halted  at  noon  and  held  a  council.    "  How  shall  we  procure  water? " 
said  one.    "  Let  us  try  the  power  of  our  magic  wands,"  said  another. 
A  man   of  the  gens  who  owned  the  wand  of  turquoise  stuck  this 
wand  into  the  ground,  and  worked  it  back  and  forth  and  round  and 
round  to  make  a  good-sized  hole.     Water  sprang  from  the  hole.     A 
woman  of  another  gens  crouched  down  to  taste  it.     "It  is  bitter 
water,"  she  cried.     "  Let  that,  then,  be  your  name  and  the  name  of 
your  people,"  said  those  who  heard  her ;  thus  did  the  gens  of  Tb'di- 
tsini,  Bitter  Water  People,  receive  its  name. 

428.  When  the  people  had  cooked  and  eaten  food  and  drunk  their 
fill  of  the  bitter  water,  they  said  :  "  Let  us  try  to  reach  yonder  moun- 


152  Navaho  Legends. 

tain  before  night."  So  they  pushed  on  to  a  distant  mountain  they 
had  beheld  in  the  east.  When  they  got  near  the  mountain  they  saw 
moccasin  tracks,  and  knew  there  must  be  some  other  people  at 
hand.  At  one  place,  near  the  base  of  the  mountain,  they  observed 
a  cluster  of  cottonwood  trees,  and,  thinking  there  might  be  a  spring 
there,  they  went  straight  to  the  cottonwood.  Suddenly  they  found 
themselves  among  a  strange  people  who  were  dwelling  around  a 
spring.  The  strangers  greeted  the  wanderers  in  a  friendly  manner, 
embraced  them,  and  asked  them  whence  they  came.  The  wanderers 
told  their  story  briefly,  and  the  strangers  said  :  "  We  were  created  at 
this  spring  and  have  always  lived  here.  It  is  called  Mai/6',  Coyote 
Water  (Coyote  Spring),  and  we  are  the  MaiWine4 "  (Coyote  People). 
The  Navahoes  called  them  Mai/6'</ine'. 

429.  The  travellers  tarried  four  days  at  the  Coyote  Spring,. dur- 
ing which  time  they  talked  much  to  their  new  friends,  and  at  length 
persuaded  the  latter  to  join  them  on  their  eastern  journey.     Before 
they  started,  the  Coyote  People  declared  that  their  spring  was  the 
only  water  in  the  neighborhood  ;  that  they  knew  of  no  other  water 
within  two  days'  journey  in  any  direction.     On  the  morning  of  the 
fifth  day  they  all  moved  off  toward  the  east.     They  travelled  all 
day,  and  made  a  dry  camp  at  night.     The  next  day  at  noon  they 
halted  on  their  way,  and  decided  to  try  again  the  power  of  a  magic 
wand.     This  time  the  white  shell  was  used  by  a  member  of  the  gens 
to  whom  it  had  been  given,  in  the  same  way  that  the  turquoise  wand 
was  used  before.     Water  sprang  up.     A  woman  of  another  gens 
said:  "It  is  muddy;  it  may  make  the  children  sick."     "  Let  your 
people  then  be  named  H&sll'zm,  Mud  People,"  cried  voices  in  the 
crowd.     Thus  the  gens  of  H&sl\z,  or  HaslVzm,  was  named. 

430.  The  second  night  after  leaving  Coyote  Spring,  darkness  over- 
took the  wanderers  at  a  place  where  there  was  no  water,  and  they 
rested  there  for  the  night.     At  noon  on  the  following  day  all  were 
thirsty,  and  the  children  were  crying.     The  people  halted,  and  pro- 
posed to  try  again  the  efficacy  of    a  sacred  wand.     The  wand  of 
haliotis  was  used  this  time.     When  the  water  sprang  up,  a  woman 
of  the  Coyote  People   stooped  first  and  drank.     "  It  is  To'dokonz, 
alkaline  (or  sapid)  water,"  she  exclaimed.     To  her  and  her  children 
the  name  7b'dfok6«#i  was  then  given,  and  from  them  the  present 
gens  of  that  name  is  descended.     Its  members  may  not  marry  with 
MaiAS'dfine',  to  whom  they  are  related. 

431.  On  the  night  after  they  found  the  alkaline  water,  they  en- 
camped once  more  at  a  place  where  no  water  was  to  be  found,  and 
on  the  following  day  great  were  their  sufferings  from  thirst.     At 
midday  they  rested,  and  begged  the  bearers  of  the  black  stone  wand 
to  try  the  power  of  their  magic  implement.     A  stream  of  fine,  clear 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  1 5  3 

water  sprang  up  when  the  wand  was  stuck  in  the  ground.  They 
filled  their  vessels  and  all  drank  heartily,  except  a  boy  and  a  girl  of 
the  gens  that  bore  the  black  stone  wand.  "  Why  do  you  not  come 
and  drink  before  the  water  is  all  gone  ? "  some  one  asked.  The 
children  made  no  reply,  but  stood  and  looked  at  the  water.  The 
girl  had  her  arms  folded  under  her  dress.  They  gave  then  to  her 
and  to  her  gens  the  name  of  Bi/a'ni,190  which  signifies  the  arms 
under  the  dress. 

432.  The  night  after  the  Bi/a'ni  was  named,  the  travellers  slept 
once  more  at  a  place  where  no  water  was  to  be  found,  and  next  day 
they  were  very  thirsty  on  their  journey.     In  the  middle  of  the  day 
they  stopped,  and  the  power  of  the  red  stone  wand  was  tried.     It 
brought  forth  water  from  the  ground,  as  the  other  wands  had  done, 
and  all  drank  till  they  were  satisfied ;  but  no  member  of  the  gentes 
still  unnamed  said  anything  and  no  name  was  given. 

433.  After  this  they  camped  two  nights  without  water.     On  the 
second   noon  they  arrived  at  a  spring  in  a  canyon  known  to  the 
MaiWme'  and  called  by  them  //alkaf/o',  Water  of  the  White  Valley. 
They  journeyed  no  farther  that  day,  but  camped  by  the  water  all 
night. 

434.  From  //alkai/o'  they  travelled  steadily  for  twenty  five  days, 
until  they  came  to  a  little  river  near  San  Francisco  Mountain,  and 
west  of  it.     During  this  part  of  the  journey  they  found  sufficient 
water  for  their  needs  every  day.     They  stopped  at  this  river  five 
nights  and  five  days  and  hunted.     Here  one  man,  and  one  only,  — 
whose  name  was  Balnili'm  (Looks  on  at  a  Battle),  —  killed  a  deer,  a 
large  one,  which  he  cut  into  small  pieces  and  distributed  around  so 
that  every  one  might  get  a  taste. 

435.  From  the  banks  of  this  stream  they  came  to  the  east  side 
of  San  Francisco  Mountain,  to  where,  beside  a  little  peak,  there  is  a 
spring  that  has  no  name.     Here  the  travellers  stopped  several  days, 
and  built  around  their  camp  a  stone  wall  that  still  stands. 

436.  The  puma  belonged  to  the  gens  that  bore  the  black  stone 
wand,  and  that  was  afterwards  called  Ki/zaa'ni.     While  the  people 
were  camped  at  this  spring  he  killed  a  deer.     The  bear  sometimes 
killed  rabbits.     The  snake  and  the  porcupine  were  of  no  use,  but 
were  a  trouble  instead,  since  they  had  to  be  carried  along.     The 
deer  ran  among  the  crowd  and  did  neither  good  nor  harm.     The 
people  lived  mostly  on  rabbits  and   other  small  animals  and  the 
seeds  of  wild  plants. 

437.  From  the  spring  near  San  Francisco  Mountain  they  travelled 
to  Bi/d/zotji  (Red  Place  on  Top),191  and  from  there  to  Tse'sintJidflya. 
Here  they  held  a  council  about  the  big  snake.     He  was  of  no  use  to 
them,  and  a  great  incumbrance.     They  turned  him  loose  among  the 


154  Navaho  Legends. 

rocks,  and  his  descendants  are  there  in  great  numbers  to  this  day. 
At  Natsisaan  (Navaho  Mountain)  they  turned  the  porcupine  loose, 
and  that  is  why  there  are  so  many  porcupines  on  the  Navaho  Moun- 
tain now. 

438.  They  next  went  to  the  place  now  called  Aga/a,192  or  Aga/ani, 
Much  Wool,  or  Hair,  and  were  now  in  the  land  of  the  Ozai  (Orai- 
bes).     They  camped  all  around  the   peak  of  Aga/a  and  went   out 
hunting.     Some  who  wore  deer-masks  for  decoys,  and  went  to  get 
deer,   succeeded  in  killing  a  great   number.     They  dressed  many 
skins,  and  the  wind  blew  the  hair  from  the  skins  up  in  a  great  pile. 
Seeing  this,  one  of  the  //bnaga'ni  proposed  that  the  place  be  called 
Aga/a,  so  this  name  was  given  to  it. 

439.  From  Aga/a  the  wanderers  went  to  Tse'^otsobia-si,  Little 
Place  of  Yellow  Rocks,  and  from  there  to  Yotso,  Big  Bead.     On 
the  way  they  camped  often,  and  sometimes  tarried  a  day  or  two  to 
hunt.    It  was  now  late  in  the  autumn.     At  Yotso  they  saw  moccasin 
tracks,  evidently  not  fresh,  and  they  said  to  one  another:  "  Perhaps 
these  are  the  footprints  of  the  people  whom  we  seek."     Now  there 
were  diverse  counsels  among  the  immigrants.     Some  were  in  haste 
to  reach  the  end  of  the  journey,  while  others,  as  the  season  was  late, 
thought  it  prudent  to  remain  where  they  were.     Thus  they  became 
divided  into  two  parties,  one  of  which  remained  at  Yotso,  while  the 
other  (containing  parts  of  several  gentes)  continued  the  journey. 
Soon  after  the  latter  was  gone,  those  who  remained  at  Yotso  sent 
two  messengers,  and  later  they  sent  two  more,  to  induce  the  sece- 
ders  to  return  ;  but  the  latter  were  never  overtaken.     The  couriers 
came  to  a  place  where  the  runaways  had  divided  into  two  bands. 
From   one  of  these  the  Jicarilla  Apaches   are    supposed   to   have 
descended.     The  other  band,  it  is   thought,  wandered  far  off  and 
became  part  of  the  Z>ine<  Na/^otloni.193 

440.  The  last  two  messengers  sent  out  pursued  one  of  the  fugi- 
tive bands  some  distance,  gave  up  the  task,  and  returned  to  Yotso. 
The  messengers  sent  first  pursued  the  other  band.     After  a  while 
they  saw  its  camp-fires ;  but  at  such  a  great  distance  that  they  de- 
spaired of  overtaking   it  and  turned  toward  the   San   Juan   River, 
where  they  found  at  length  the  long-sought  Navahoes.     These  two 
messengers  were  the  men,  of  whom  you  have  heard   before,  who 
entered  the  camp  of  Big  Knee  at  Tb'ye'tli  while  the  dance  of  natn'd 
was  going  on,  and  announced  the  approach  of  the  immigrants  from 
the  west.     (See  par.  143.) 

441.  When  spring-time  came,   the  people  who  had   remained  at 
Yotso  set  out  again  on  their  journey;  but  before  long  some  of  the 
Tb'ditnni   got    tired.     They   said    that    the    children's    knees  were 
swollen,  that  their  feet  were  blistered,  and  that  they  could  not  go 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  155 

much  farther.  Soon  after  they  said  this  they  came  to  a  place  where 
a  great  lone  tree  stood,  and  here  they  declared  :  "  We  shall  stop  at 
this  tree.  After  a  while  the  people  will  come  here  and  find  us." 
They  remained  and  became  the  gens  of  Tsmsaka</ni,  People  of  the 
(Lone)  Tree,  who  are  closely  related  to  TVdrtrini  and  cannot  marry 
with  the  latter. 

442.  At  PtabiA)',  Deer  Spring,  some  more  of  the  gens  of  TVditrini 
halted,  because,  they  said,  their  children  were  lame  from  walking 
and    could    travel  no  farther.     Here  they  formed  a  new  gens  of 
Pi;zbi/6Wme',  People  of  Deer  Spring,194  who  are  also  closely  related 
to  Tb'ditrini.     At  this  place  they  wanted  their  pet  deer  to  leave 
them,  but  he  would  not  go  ;  he  remained  at  the  spring  with  the 
people   who    stayed   there.       What    finally  became  of   him   is   not 
known.195 

443.  The  main  body  of  the  immigrants  kept  on  their  way,  and, 
soon  after  passing  Deer  Spring,  arrived  at  Hyfefyin,  where  the  peo- 
ple of   7/^a/paha  had  their  farms.     Big  Knee  was  still  alive  when 
they  came ;  but  he  was  very  old  and  feeble,  and  was  not  respected 
and  obeyed  as  in  former  days.     When  TM'paha  and  Hasti'zni  met, 
they  traced  some  relationship  between  the  two  gentes  :  their  names 
had  much  the  same  meaning ;  their  headdresses  and  accoutrements 
were  alike  ;   so  the  H&sll'zm  stopped  with    77za'paha  and  became 
great  friends  with  the  latter.     Yet  to-day  a  member  of  one  of  these 
gentes  may  marry  a  member  of  the  other. 

444.  The  bear  was  the  last  of  their  five  pets  whicri  the  immigrants 
retained.     When  they  were  done  their  journey  they  said  to  him: 
"  Our  pet,  you  have  served  us  well ;  but  we  are  now  safe  among  our 
friends  and  we  need  your  services  no  more.     If  you  wish  you  may 
leave  us.     There  are  others  of  your  kind  in  Tjitakai  (the  Chusca 
Mountains).     Go  there   and   play  with  them."     They  turned   him 
loose  in  Tjiijkai,  and  bears  have  been  numerous  there  ever  since. 

^45.  Of  the  people  from  the  west,  there  was  yet  one  gens  —  that 
to  which  Estsanatlehi  had  given  the  wand  of  turquoise  —  which  had 
no  name.  This  nameless  people  did  not  stay  long  on  the  banks  of 
the  San  Juan  before  they  wandered  off  far  toward  the  south.  One 
day  two  men  of  the  party,  while  hunting,  came  to  a  place  called 
Tse'nahapi/,  where  there  were  high  overhanging  rocks.  Here  they 
saw  the  fresh  prints  of  unshod  human  feet.  They  followed  these 
tracks  but  a  short  distance  when  they  beheld  a  man  watching  them 
from  a  rocky  pinnacle.  As  soon  as  he  saw  that  he  was  observed, 
he  crouched  and  disappeared.  They  ran  quickly  behind  the  rock  on 
which  they  had  seen  him  and  again  observed  him,  running  as  fast 
as  he  could.  "Why  do  you  fly  from  us?"  they  shouted.  "We 
mean  no  harm  to  you."  Hearing  this  he  stopped  till  they  came  up 


156  Navaho  Legends. 

to  him.  Then  they  found  he  spoke  the  same  language  they  did, 
and  they  addressed  him  in  terms  of  relationship.  "  Where  do  you 
live?"  they  asked.  "In  a  canyon  high  on  the  mountain,"  he  re- 
plied. "  What  do  you  live  on  ?  "  they  queried.  "  We  live  mostly 
on  seeds,"  he  answered  ;  "  but  sometimes  we  catch  wood-rats,  and 
we  raise  small  crops."  "We  shall  have  many  things  to  tell  one  an- 
other," said  the  hunters  ;  "  but  your  home  is  too  far  for  our  people 
to  reach  to-day.  Tell  your  people  to  come  to  this  spot,  and  we  shall 
tell  ours  to  come  up  here  and  meet  them."  When  the  hunters  got 
home  they  found  their  friends  cooking  rabbits  and  making  mush 
of  wild  seeds.  When  the  meal  was  finished  all  climbed  the  moun- 
tain to  the  appointed  place  and  found  the  strangers  awaiting  them. 
The  two  parties  camped  together  that  night  and  related  to  one 
another  their  histories  and  adventures.  The  strangers  said  that 
they  had  been  created  at  the  place  where  they  were  all  then  camped 
only  seven  years  previously  ;  that  they  were  living  not  far  off  at  a 
place  called  Na/anbi//2a/in,  but  that  they  came  often  to  their  natal 
place  to  pick  cactus  fruit  and  yucca  fruit.  They  said  they  called 
themselves  Tse'^me',  or  Rock  People  ;  but  the  nameless  ones  gave 
them  the  name  of  Tse'nahapiVni,  Overhanging  Rocks  People,  from 
the  place  where  they  met.  With  this  name  they  became  a  gens 
of  the  Navahoes. 

446.  The  Tse'nahapiVni  told  their   new  friends    that   they  had 
some  corn  and  pumpkins  cached  at  a  distance,  and  they  proposed  to 
open  their  stores  and  get  ready  for  a  journey.     They  knew  of  some 
Apaches  to  the  south,  whom  they  would  all  visit  together.     These 
Apaches,  they  said,  had  some  gentes  of  the  same  names  as  those  of 
the  Navahoes.     Then  they  all  went  to  where  the  provisions  were 
stored,  and  they  made  corn-cakes  to  use  on  the  journey.    When  they 
were  ready  they  went  to  the  south  and  found,  at  a  place  called 
Tj-ohanaa,  the  Apaches,  who  recognized  them  as  friends,  and  treated 
their  visitors  so  well  that  the  latter  concluded  to  remain  for  a  while. 

447.  At  the  end  of  three  years  the  Tse'nahapiVni  went  off  to  join 
the  Navahoes  on  the  San  Juan.     The  nameless  people  stayed  four 
years  longer.     About  the  end  of  that  time  they  began  to  talk  of 
leaving,  and  their  Apache  friends  tried  to  persuade  them  to  remain, 
but  without  avail.     When  they  had  all  their  goods  packed  and  were 
ready  to  start,  an  old  woman  was  observed  walking  arounpl  them. 
She  walked  around  the  whole  band,  coming  back  to  the  place  from 
which  she  started ;  then  she  turned  towards  them  and  said  :  "  You 
came  among  us  without  a  name,  and  you  have  dwelt  among  us, 
nameless,  for  seven  years  ;  no  one  knew  what  to  call  you ;  but  you 
shall  not  leave  us  without  a  name.     I  have  walked  around  you,  and 
I  call  you  //bnaga'ni  (Walked-around  People)."  196 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  157 

448.  When  the  //bnaga'ni  got  back  to  the  San  Juan  they  found 
that  the  Tse'nahapi'/ni  had  been  long  settled  there  and  had  become 
closely  related  to  Tlastrini,  J9estrini,  Km/it^ini,  and  Tsmad^Fni. 
The  //bnaga'ni  in  time  formed  close  relationships  with  77za'neza'ni, 
Dsi/tla'ni,  To'^ani,  and  Na/zopani.  These  five  gentes  are  now  all 
the  same  as  one  gens,  and  no  member  of  one  may  marry  a  member 
of  another. 


449.  It    happened  about  this  time,  while  some  of  the   T^a'paha 
were  sojourning  at  Aga/a,  that  they  sent  two  children,  one  night,  to 
a  spring  to  get  water.     The   children    carried  out  with  them  two 
wicker  bottles,  but  returned  with  four.     "  Where  did  you  get  these 
other  bottles  ?  "  the  parents  inquired.     "  We  took  them  away  from 
two  little  girls  whom  we  met  at  the  spring,"  answered  the  children. 
"  Why  did  you  do  this,  and  who  are  the  girls  ? "  said  the  elders. 
"  We  do  not  know.     They  are  strangers,"  said  the  little  ones.     The 
parents  at  once  set  out  for  the  spring  to  find  the  strange  children 
and  restore  the  stolen  bottles  to  them  ;  but  on  their  way  they  met 
the  little  girls  coming  toward  the   T/^a'paha  camp,  and  asked  them 
who  they  were.     The  strange  children  replied  :  "  We  belong  to  a 
band  of  wanderers  who  are  encamped  on  yonder  mountain.     They 
sent  us  two  together  to  find  water."     "Then  we  shall  give  you  a 
name,"  said  the  T^a/paha ;  "  we  shall  call  you   To'Da^rnaasi,"  Two 
Come  Together  for  Water.     The   TM'paha  brought  the  little  girls 
to  their  hut  and  bade  them  be  seated.     "  Stay  with  us,"  they  said. 
"  You  are  too  weak  and  little  to  carry  the  water  so  far.     We  will 
send  some  of  our  young  men  to  carry  it  for  you."     When  the  young 
men  found  the  camp  of  the  strangers  they  invited  the  latter  to  visit 
them.    The  77/a'paha  welcomed  the  new-comers  as  friends,  and  told 
them  they  had  already  a  name  for  them,  Tb'ba^naa^i.     Under  this 
name  they  became  united  to  the  Navahoes  as  a  new  gens,  and  they 
are  now  closely  affiliated  with  TM'paha.197 

450.  Shortly  after  the  coming  of  Tb'ba^naa^i,  the  Navahoes  were 
joined  by  a  band  of  Apaches,  who  were  adopted  by  T/za'paha  and  not 
formed  into  a  new  gens.     About  the  same  time  a  band  of  Pah  Utes 
came  and  were  likewise  adopted  by  TM'paha.     A  little  later  some 
more  Apaches  arrived  and  became  a  part  of  T^a'paha  ;  but,  although 
no  distinct  name  is  now  given  them,  their  descendants  are  known 
among  the  TM'paha  as  a  people  of  different  origin  from  the  others. 

451.  Another  party  of  Apaches,  who  came  afterwards,  dwelt  a 
long  time  among  the   To'dokozi ;    but  later   they  abode  with   the 
JM'paha,  and  became  closely  related  to  the  latter.     They  are  still 
affiliated  with  TM'paha,  but  these  call  them  Tbtfokdsi 


158  Navaho  Legends. 

452.  Some   years  passed  before  the  next  accession   was  made. 
This  was  another  party  of  Zufii  Indians,  and  they  were  admitted  into 
the  gens  of  the  TM'paha.     Soon  after  them  came  the  Zufii  People, 
who  were  at  last  formed  into  a  separate  gens,  —  that  of  Nana^/e^i;/. 
This  is  the  Navaho  name  for  all  the  Zufiians,  and  means  Black 
Horizontal  Stripe  Aliens.198     All  these  people  deserted  the  Zufii 
villages  on  account  of  scarcity  of  food. 

453.  A  new  people,  with  painted  faces,  came  from  the  west  about 
the  same  time  as  those  who  formed  the  gens  of  Zuni,  or  a  little 
later.     They  are  supposed  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  tribe  now 
called  Mohaves  on  the  banks  of  the  Colorado.     They  bore  the  name 
of  Z^ild^ehi,  and  their  descendants  now  form  a  gens  of  that  name 
among  the  Navahoes.     At  first  they  affiliated  with  Nana^/e^i;/ ;  but 
to-day  they  are  better  friends  with  TM'trini  than  with  Nana^/e^iw. 

454.  A  war-party,  consisting  of  members  of  different  gentes,  was 
now   organized   among   the   Navahoes   to   attack   a   pueblo    called 
Saibe^cg-an,  House  Made  of  Sand.      At  that  place  they  captured 
two  girls  and  brought  them  home  as  slaves.     There  was  a  salt  lake 
near  their  old  home,  and  the  girls  belonged  to  a  gens  of  Salt  People 
there.     So  their  numerous  descendants  now  among  the  Navahoes 
form  the  gens  of  A^ihi,  or  Salt.     The  captives  were  taken  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Tse'dzlnkl'ni,  hence  A^ihi  and  Tse'd^inkfni  are  now 
affiliated. 

455.  Then  a  war  party  was  gotten  up  to  attack  the  people  of 
Jemez  pueblo.     On  this  raid  one  of  the  Tlastrini  captured  a  Jemez 
girl,  but  sold  her  to  one  of  the  Tse'd^inki'ni.     She  was  the  pro- 
genitor of  the  gens  of   Mai^e^ki^ni,   People  of  Wolf   Pass   (i.  e., 
Jemez),  which  is  now  affiliated  with  Tse'dsffnkl'ni. 

456.  After  the  Navahoes  attacked  Saibe^og-an  there  was  a  famine 
there,  and  some  of  the  people  abandoned  their  homes  and  joined 
the  Navahoes.     They  said  that  in  their  pueblo  there  was  a  gens  of 
JM'paha,  and  hearing  there  was  such  a  gens  among  the  Navahoes 
they  came  to  join  it.      Therefore   they  sought  77/a'paha  till  they 
found  it  and  became  a  part  of  it. 

457.  There  came  once  a  party  of  seven  people  from  a  place  called 
Tse'yana/6'ni,  Horizontal   Water   under  Cliffs,  to  pay  a  short  visit 
to  the  Navahoes ;  but  from  time  to  time  they  delayed  their  depar- 
ture, and  at  last  stayed  forever  with  the  Navahoes.     They  formed 
the  gens  of  Tse'yana/6'ni,  which  is  now  extinct. 

458.  The  people  whom  Estsanatlehi  created  from  the  skin  under 
her  right  arm,  and  to  whom  she  gave  the  wand  of  white  shell,  was 
called,  after  they  came  among  the  Navahoes,  Ki;zaa'ni,  High  Stone 
House  People;  not  because  they   built  or  dwelt  in  such  a  house, 
but  because  they  lived  near  one.199 


The  Navaho  Origin  Legend.  159 

459.  When  the  Bita'ni  were  encamped  at  a  place  called  Tb'tso,  or 
Big  Water,  near  the  Carrizo  Mountains,  a  man  and  a  woman  came 
up  out  of  the  water  and  joined  them.  From  this  pair  is  descended 
the  gens  of  To'tsoni,  People  of  the  Big  Water,  which  is  affiliated 
with  BWd'ni. 


460.  Nart'nesMani,201  He  Who  Teaches  Himself,  lived,  with  his 
relations,  near  the  mountain  of  Dsi/nao/i/.     The  few  people  who 
lived  there  used  to  wander  continually  around  the  mountain,  hence 
its  name,  Encircled  Mountain.    Na/i'nes///ani  delighted  in  gambling, 
but  was  not  successful.     He  lost  at  game,  not  only  all  his  own 
goods,  but  all  the  goods  and  jewels  of  his  relations,  until  there  was 
only  one  article  of  value  left  —  a  necklace  consisting  of  several 
strings  of  white  beads.     His  parents  and  brother  lived  in  one  lodge  ; 
his  grandmother  and  niece  lived  in  another,  a  little  distance  from 
the  first.    When  the  gambler  had  parted  with  everything  except  the 
necklace,  his  brother  took  this  to  the  lodge  of  his  grandmother  and 
gave  it  to  her,  saying :  "  My  brother  has  gambled  away  everything 
save  this.     Should  he  lose  this  at  game,  it  is  the  last  thing  he  will 
ever  lose,  for  then  I  shall  kill  him." 

461.  Natf'nes//zani  did  not  spend  all  his  time  gambling;  some- 
times he  hunted  for  wood-rats  and  rabbits  in  the  mountains.     The 
day  the  necklace  was  brought,  in  returning  from  his  hunt,  he  came 
to  the  house  of  his  grandmother  and  saw  the  necklace  hanging  up 
there.     "  Why  is  this  here?"  he  asked.     "It  is  put  here  for  safe- 
keeping," replied  his  niece.     "  Your  brother  values  it  and  has  asked 
us  to  take  care  of  it.     If  you  lose  it  in  gambling,  he  has  threatened 
to  kill  you.     I  have  heard  the  counsels  of  the  family  about  you. 
They  are  tired  of  you.     If  you  lose  this  necklace  at  play,  it  is  the 
last  thing  you  will  ever  lose."      On  hearing  this  he  only  said  to 
his  niece,  "  I  must  think  what  I  shall  do,"  and  he  lay  down  to  rest. 

462.  Next  morning  he  rose  early,  made  his  breakfast  of  wood- 
rats,  and  went  out  to  hunt,  travelling  toward  the  east.     He  stopped 
at  one  place,  set  fall-traps  for  wood-rats,  and  slept  there  all  night. 
During  the  night  he  pondered  on  many  plans.     He  thought  at  first 
he  would  go  farther  east  and  leave  his  people  forever  ;  but  again  he 
thought,  "  Who  will  hunt  wood-rats  for  my  niece  when  I  am  gone  ?" 
and  he  went  back  to  her  lodge  and  gave  her  all  the  little  animals  he 
had  killed. 

463.  In  the  morning  he  breakfasted  again  on  wood-rats,  and  said 


JVaii'nesihant.  1 6 1 

to  himself:  "  I  shall  go  to-day  to  the  south  and  never  return."  Such 
was  his  intention  as  he  went  on  his  way.  He  travelled  to  the  south, 
and  spent  the  night  out  again ;  but  in  the  morning  he  changed  his 
mind,  and  came  back  to  his  niece  with  wood-rats  and  rabbits  and  the 
seeds  of  wild  plants  that  he  had  gathered.  The  women  cooked 
some  of  the  wood-rats  for  his  supper  that  night.  When  he  lay 
down  he  thought  of  his  brother's  threats,  and  made  plans  again  for 
running  away.  He  had  not  touched  the  beads,  though  he  longed  to 
take  them. 

464.  Next  morning  he  went  to  the  west,  hunted  there  all  day, 
and  camped  out  at  night  as  before ;  but  again  he  could  not  make  up 
his  mind  to  leave  his  people,  though  he  thought  much  about  it;  so 
he  returned  to  his  niece  with  such  food  as  he  had  been  able  to  get 
for  her/ and  slept  in  the  lodge  that  night. 

465.  On  the  following  day  he  went  to  the  north  and  hunted.     He 
slept  little  at  night  while  camping  out,  for  his   mind  was  filled  with 
sad  thoughts.     "My  brother  disowns  me,"  he  said  to  himself.     "My 
parents  refuse  me  shelter.     My  niece,  whom  I  love  most,   barely 
looks  at  me.    I  shall  never  go  back  again."    Yet,  for  all  these  words, 
when  morning  came  he  returned  to  the  lodge.19 

466.  By  this  time  he  was  very  poor,  and  so  were  his  grandmother 
and  niece.     His  sandals,  made  of  grass  and  yucca-fibre,  were  worn 
through,  and  the  blanket  made  of  yucca-fibre  and  cedar-bark,  which 
covered  his  back,  was  ragged.177     But  the  people  in  the  other  lodge 
were  better  off.     They  gave  the.  grandmother  and  niece  food  at 
times ;  but  always  watched  these  closely  when  they  came  for  food, 
lest  they  should  carry  off  something  to  give  the  gambler.     "  Let 
him  live,"  said  his  parents,  "  on  wood-rats  and  rabbits  as  well  as  he 
can." 

467.  The  night  after  he  returned  from  his  hunt  to  the  north  he 
slept   little,  but    spent   the   time    mostly  in  thinking   and   making 
plans.     What  these  plans  were  you  shall  soon  know,  for  the  next 
day  he  began  to  carry  them  out.    His  thought  for  his  niece  was  now 
the  only  thing  that  made  him  care  to  stay  at  home. 

468.  In  the  morning  after  this  night  of   thought  he  asked  his 
niece  to  roast  for  him  four  wood-rats  ;  he  tied  these  together  and  set 
out  for  the  San  Juan  River.     When  he  got  to  the  banks  of  the  river 
he  examined  a  number  of  cottonwood  trees  until  he  found  one  that 
suited  him.     He  burned  this  down  and  burned  it  off  square  at  the 
base.     He  kept  his  fire  from  burning  up  the  whole  trunk  by  apply- 
ing mud  above  the  place  to  be  burned.     His  plan  was  to  make  a 
hollow  vessel  by  which  he  could  go  down  the  San  Juan  River.     It 
was  his  own  plan.     He  had  never  heard  of  such  a  thing  before. 
The  Navahoes  had  never  anything  better  than  rafts,  and  these  were 


1 62  Navaho  Legends. 

good  only  to  cross  the  river.  He  lay  down  beside  the  log  to  see 
where  he  should  divide  it,  for  he  had  planned  to  make  the  vessel  a 
little  longer  than  himself,  and  he  burned  the  log  across  at  the  place 
selected.  All  this  he  did  in  one  day,  and  then  he  went  home,  col- 
lecting rats  on  the  way  ;  but  he  told  his  niece  nothing  about  the 
log.  He  slept  that  night  in  the  lodge. 

469.  He  went  back,  next  morning,  to  his  log  on  the  banks  of  the 
San  Juan,  and  spent  the  day  making  the  log  hollow  by  means  of 
fire,  beginning  at  the  butt  end.     He  succeeded  in  doing  only  a  part 
of  this  work  in  one  day.     It  took  him  four  days  to  burn  the  hole 
through  from  one  end  of  the  log  to  the  other  and  to  make  it  wide 
enough  to  hold  his  body.    At  the  end  of  each  day's  work  he  returned 
to  his  grandmother's  lodge,  and  got  wood-rats  and  rabbits  on  his 
way  home. 

470.  The  next  day,  after  the  hole  was  finished,  was  spent  in  mak- 
ing and  inserting  plugs.     He  moistened  a  lot  of  shredded  cedar- 
bark  and  pounded  it  between  stones  so  as  to  make  a  soft  mass.     He 
shoved  a  large  piece  of  this  in  at  the  butt  end  and  rammed  it  down 
to  the  tip  end.     In  burning  out  the  log,  he  had  burned,  where  the 
tree  branched,  four  holes  which  he  did  not  need,  and  these  he  filled 
with  plugs  of   the  cedar-bark.      He    prepared    another  plug  to  be 
rammed  into  the  butt  from  the  inside,  after  he  entered  the  log,  and 
when  this  was  finished  he  went  home  to  his  grandmother's  house, 
collecting  wood-rats  from  his  traps  as  he  went. 

471.  The  next  morning  his  niece  cooked  several  wood-rats  and 
ground  for  him  a  good  quantity  —  as  much  as  could  be  held  in  two 
hands  —  of   the  seeds  of   tlo'tsozi   (Sporobolns    cryptandrus).     This 
meal  she  put  in  a  bag  of  wood-rat  skins  sewed  together.     Thus  pro- 
vided he  went  back  to  his  log.     He  put  the  provisions  into  the  hole 
and  then  proceeded  to  enter,  in  person,  to  see  if  the  log  was  sound 
and  the  hole  big  enough.     He  entered,  head  foremost,  and  crawled 
inwards  until  half  of  his  chest  was  in  the  log,  when  he  heard  a  voice 
crying,  "  Wu'hu'hu'hu  !  "  a  and  he  came  out  to  see  who  called.     He 
looked  in  every  direction  and  examined  the  ground  for  tracks,  but 
seeing  no  signs  of  any  intruder  he  proceeded  again  to  enter  the  log. 
This  time  he  got  in  as  far  as  his  waist,  when  again  he  heard  the  cry 
of  "  Wu'hu'hu'hu,"  but  louder  and  nearer  than  before.     Again  he 
came  out  of  the  log  and  looked  around  farther  and  more  carefully 
than  he  did  the  first  time,  going  in  his  search  to  the  margin  of  the 
river ;  but  he  saw  no  one,  found  no  tracks,  and  returned  to  his  log. 
On  the  next  trial  he  entered  as  far  as  his  knees,  when  for  the  third 
time  the  cry  sounded,  and  he  crept  out  once  more  to  find  whence  it 
came.     He  searched  farther,  longer,  and  more  closely  than  on  either 
of  the  previous  occasions,  but  without  success,  and  he  went  back  to 


Natifriesthani.  163 

enter  the  log  again.  On  the  fourth  trial,  when  he  had  entered  as 
far  as  his  feet,  he  heard  the  cry  loud  and  near,  and  he  felt  some  one 
shaking  the  log.  He  crept  out  for  the  fourth  time  and  beheld 
//astreyal/i,  the  Talking  God,73  standing  over  him. 

472.  //astreyaM  did  not  speak  at  first,  but  told  the  man  by  signs 
that  he  must  not  get  into  the  log,  that  he  would  surely  be  drowned 
if  he  did,  and  that  he  must  go  home.     Then  //astyeyal/i  walked  off 
a  distance  from  the  log  and  motioned  to  the  Navaho  to  come  to  him. 
When  Natf'nes/^ani  came  near  the  god,  the  latter  spoke,  saying : 
"  My  grandchild,  why  are  you  doing  all  this  work  ?     Where  do  you 
intend  to  go  with  this  log?"     The  man  then  told  the  god  all  his  sad 
story,  and  ended  by  saying  :  "  I  am  an  outcast.     I  wish  to  get  far 
away  from  my  people.     Take  pity  on  me.     Stop  me  not,  but  let  me 
go  in  this  log  as  far  as  the  waters  of  the  Old  Age  River  (San  Juan) 
will  bear  me.' '     //astreyal/i  replied  :  "No.     You  must  not  attempt 
to  go  into  that  log.     You  will  surely  be  drowned  if  you  do.     I  shall 
not  allow  you."     Four  times  Natf'nes/^ani  pleaded,  and  four  times 
the  god  denied  him.     Then  the  god  said  :  "  Have  you  any  precious 
stones  ?  "     "  Yes,"  replied  the  man.     "  Have  you  white  shell  beads  ? 
Have  you  turquoise  ? "  and  thus  the  god  went  on  asking  him,  one 
by  one,  if  he  had  all  the  original  eighteen  sacred  things  202  that  must 
be  offered  to  the  gods  to  gain  their  favor.     To  each  of  his  questions 
the  man  replied  "  Yes,"  although  he  had  none  of  these  things,  and 
owned  nothing  but  the  rags  that  covered  him.     "  It  is  well,"  said 
the  god.     "You  need  not  enter  that  log  to  make  your  journey.     Go 
home  and  stay  there  for  four  nights.     At  daylight,  after  the  fourth 
night,  you  may  expect  to   see  me  again.     Have  yourself  and  your 
house  clean  and  in  order  for  my  coming.     Have  the  floor  and  all 
around  the  house  swept  carefully.    Have  the  ashes  taken  out.    Wash 
your  body  and  your  hair  with  yucca  suds  the  night  before  I  arrive, 
and  bid  your  niece  to  wash  herself  also  with  yucca.     I  shall  go  off, 
now,  and  tell  the  other  divine  ones  about  you." 

473.  As  soon  as  he  came  home,  Na/i'nes^ani  told  his  niece  what 
things  he  wanted  (except  the  baskets  and  the  sacred  buckskins)  ; 
but  he  did  not  tell  her  for  what  purpose  he  required  them,  and  he 
asked  her  to  steal  them  from  their  neighbors.     This  she  did,  a  few 
things  at  a  time,  and  during  many  visits.     It  took  her  three  days  to 
steal  them  all.     On  the  evening  of  the  third  day,  after  they  had 
washed  themselves  with  the  yucca  suds,  he  told  her  about  the  bas- 
kets and  the  sacred  buckskins  which  he  needed.     She  went  to  the 
neighboring  lodge  and  stole  these  articles,  wrapping  the  baskets  up 
in  the  buckskins.    When  she  returned  with  her  booty,  he  wrapped  all 
the  stolen  goods  up  in  the  skins,  put  them  away  in  the  edge  of  the 
lodge,  and  lay  down  to  rest.     He  was  a  good  sleeper,  and  usually 


164  Navaho  Legends. 

slept  all  night  ;  but  on  this  occasion  he  woke  about  midnight,  and 
could  not  go  to  sleep  again. 

474.  At  dawn  he  heard,  faintly,  the  distant  "  Wu'hu'hu'hu  "  of 
//astreyal/i.     At  once  he  woke  his  grandmother,  saying:  "I  hear  a 
voice.    The  digmi  (holy  ones,  divine  ones)  are  coming."    "  You  fool," 
she  replied.     "  Shut  your  mouth  and  go  to  sleep.    They  would  never 
come  to  visit  such  poor  people  as  we  are,"  and  she  fell  asleep  again. 
In  a  little  while  he  heard  the  voice  a  second  time,  louder  and  nearer, 
and  again  he  shook  his  grandmother  and  told  her  he  heard  the 
voices  of  the  gods  ;  but  she  still  would  not  believe  him,  and  slept 
again.     The  third  time  that  he  awoke  her,  when  he  heard  the  voices 
still  more  plainly,  she  remained  awake,  beginning  to  believe  him. 
The  fourth  time  the  call  sounded  loud  and  clear,  as  if  cried  by  one 
standing  at  the  door.     "  Hear,"  he  said  to  his  grandmother.     "  Is 
that  not  "truly  the  voice  of  a  divine  one  ? "     At   last  she  believed 
him,  and  said  in  wonder:  "Why  should  the  digmi  come  to  visit  us  ? " 

475.  //astreyal/i  and  //ast^e/^o^an  were  at  the  door,  standing  on 
the  rainbow  on  which  they  had  travelled.     The  former  made  signs 
to  the  man,  over  the  curtain  which  hung  in  the  doorway,  bidding 
him  pull  the  curtain  aside  and  come  out.     "  Grandmother,"  said  the 
Navaho,  "  //ast siy&\t\  calls  me  to  him."    "  It  is  well,"  she  answered. 
"  Do  as  he  bids  you."     As  he  went  out,  bearing  his  bundle  of  sacri- 
ficial objects,  he  said  :  "  I  go  with  the  divine  ones,  but  I  shall  come 
back  again  to  see  you."     The  niece  had  a  pet  turkey203  that  roosted 
on  a  tree  near  the  lodge,     //astreyal/i  made  signs  to  the  Navaho  to 
take  the  turkey  along.     The  Navaho  said  :  "  My  niece,  the  gods  bid 
me  take  your  turkey,  and  I  would  gladly  do  it,  for  I  am  going  among 
strange  people,  where  I  shall  be  lonely.     I  love  the  bird  ;  he  would 
be  company  to  me  and  remind  me  of  my  home.    Yet  I  shall  not  take 
him  against  your  will."     "Then  you  may  have  my -turkey  pet,"  re- 
plied the  niece.     The  old  woman  said  to  the  god  :  "  I  shall  be  glad 
to  have  my  grandchild  back  again.    Will  you  let  him  return  to  us  ?  " 
//astre'yalri.  only  nodded  his  head.     The  gods  turned  the  rainbow 
around  sunwise,  so  that  its  head,204  which  formerly  pointed  to  the 
door   of  the  lodge,   now  pointed    in    a   new  direction,     //ast^eyal/i 
got  on  the  bow  first.     He  made  the  Navaho  get  on  behind  him. 
//astye/^an  got   on    behind   the   man.     "  Shut   your  eyes,"  com- 
manded //asUeyal/i,  and  the  Navaho  did  as  he  was  bidden. 

476.  In  a  moment  //asUeyal/i  cried  again:  "Open  your  eyes." 
The  Navaho  obeyed  and  found  himself  far  away  from  his  home  at 
Tse'/a^i,  where  the  ^igini  dwelt.     They  led  him  into  a  house  in  the 
rock  which  was  full  of  divine  people.     It  was  beautiful  inside  —  the 
walls  were  covered  with  rock  crystal,  which  gave  forth  a  brilliant 
light.     //asts-eyaM  ordered  food  brought  for  his  visitor.     The  latter 


Natiriesthani.  165 

was  handed  a  small  earthen  cup  only  so  big  (a  circle '  made  by  the 
thumb  and  index  ringer  joined  at  the  tips)  filled  with  mush.  "  What 
a  poor. meal  to  offer  a  stranger  !  "  thought  the  Navaho,  supposing  he 
would  finish  it  in  one  mouthful.  But  he  ate,  and  ate,  and  ate,  and 
ate,  from  the  cup  and  could  not  empty  it.  When  he  had  eaten  till 
he  was  satisfied  the  little  cup  was  as  full  as  in  the  beginning.205  He 
handed  the  cup,  when  he  was  done,  back  to  T/astreyalri,  who,  with 
one  sweep  of  his  finger,  emptied  it,  and  it  remained  empty.  The 
little  cup  was  then  filled  with  water  and  given  to  the  guest  to  drink. 
He  drank  till  his  thirst  was  satisfied  ;  but  the  cup  was  as  full  when 
he  was  done  as  it  was  when  he  began.  He  handed  it  again  to 
//astreyal/i,  who  put  it  to  his  own  lips  and  emptied  it  at  a  single 
swallow. 

477.  The  gods  opened  the  bundle  of  the  Navaho  and  examined 
the  contents  to  see  if  he  had  brought  all  they  required,  and  they 
found  he  had  done  so.     In  the  mean  time  he  filled  his  pipe  and 
lighted  it.     While  he  was  smoking,  the  gods  Nayenezgani,  To'ba- 
dzistsini,  and  //astreol/oi  206  arrived  from   Tb'ye'tli  and  entered  the 
house.      Nayenezgani  said  to  the  visitor  :  "  I  hear  that  you  were 
found  crawling  into  a  hole  which  you  had  made  in  a  log  by  burn- 
ing.    Why  were  you  doing  this  ?  "     In  reply  the  Navaho  told  his 
whole  story,  as  he  had  told  it  to  //asUeyal/i,  and  ended  by  saying : 
"  I  wished  to  go  to  Tb'ye'tli,  where  the  rivers  meet,  or  wherever  else 
the  waters  would  bear  me.     While  I  was  trying  to  carry  out  this 
plan,  my  grandfather,  //asUeyal/i,  found  me  and  bade  me  not  to  go. 
For  this  reason  only  I  gave  my  plan  up  and  went  home."     "  Do  you 
still  wish  to  go  to   Tb'ye'tli  ?  "  said  Nayenezgani.     "  Yes,"  said  the 
Navaho,  "  I  wish  to  go  to  Tb'ye'tli  or  as  far  down  the  San  Juan  as  I 
can  get."     "  Then  you  shall  go,"  said  the  god. 

478.  Nayenezgani  went  forth  from  the  house  and  the  other  gods 
followed  him.     They  went  to  a  grove  of  spruce,  and  there  picked 
out  a  tree  of  unusual  size.     They  tied  rainbow  ropes  to  it,  so  that  it 
might  not  fall  with  too  great  force  and  break  in  falling.     Nayenez- 
gani and  Tb'bad^isUini  cut  it  near  the  root  with  their  great  stone 
knives,  and  it  fell  to  the  north.    Crooked  Lightning  struck  the  fallen 
tree  and  went  through  it  from  butt  to  tip.     Straight  Lightning  struck 
it  and  went  through  it  from  tip  to  butt.     Thus  the  hole  was  bored 
in  -the  log,  and  this  was  done  before  the  branches  were  cut  away. 
The  hole  that  Crooked  Lightning  bored  was  too  crooked.     Straight 
Lightning  made  it  straight,  but  still  it  was  too  small.     Black  Wind 
was  sent  into  the  hole,  and  he  made  it  larger,  but  not  large  enough. 
Blue  Wind,  Yellow  Wind,  and  White  Wind  entered  the  hole,  each  in 
turn,  and  each,  as  he  went  through,  made  it  a  little  larger.     It  was 
not  until  White  Wind  had  done  his  work  that  the  hole  was  big 


1 66  Navaho  Legends. 

enough  to  contain  the  body  of  a  man.  //astreyal/i  supplied  a  bowl 
of  food,  a  vessel  of  water,  and  a  white  cloud  for  bedding.  They 
wrapped  the  Navaho  up  in  the  cloud  and  put  him  into  the  log.  They 
plugged  the  ends  with  clouds,  —  a  black  cloud  in  the  butt  and  a  blue 
cloud  in  the  tip,  —  and  charged  him  not  to  touch  either  of  these 
cloudy  plugs.  When  they  got  him  into  the  log  some  one  said:  "  How 
will  he  get  light  ?  How  will  he  know  when  it  is  night  and  when  it 
is  day  ? "  They  bored  two  holes  in  the  log,  one  on  each  side  of  his 
head,  and  they  put  in  each  hole,  to  make  a  window,  a  piece  of  rock 
crystal,  which  they  pushed  in  so  tightly  that  water  could  not  leak  in 
around  it. 

479.  While  some  of  the  gods  were  preparing  the  log,  others  were 
getting  the  pet  turkey  ready  for  his  journey,  but  they  did  this  un- 
known to  the  Navaho.    They  put  about  his  body  black  cloud,  he-rain, 
black  mist,  and  she-rain.     They  put  under  his  wings  white  corn, 
yellow  corn,  blue  corn,  corn  of  mixed  colors,  squash   seed,  water- 
melon seed,  muskmelon  seed,  gourd  seed,  and  beans  of  all  colors. 
These  were  the  six  gods  who  prepared  the   turkey  :  four  of  the 
Ga/zaskh/i  207  from  a  place  called  Z)epe//a//a/i/,  one  //astrey/o^ian  from 
Tse'gihi,165  and  the  //astye/zo^an  from  Tse'/a^i,  —  the  one  who  found 
the  Navaho  entering  his  cottonwood  log  and  took  him  home  to  the 
house  in  the  rocks. 

480.  The  next  thing  they  had  to  think  about  was  how  they  should 
carry  the  heavy  log  to  the  river  with  the  man  inside  of  it.     They 
put  under  the  log  (first)  a  rope  of  crooked  lightning,  (second)  a  rope 
of  rainbow,  (third)  a  rope  of  straight  lightning,  and  (fourth)  another 
rope  of  rainbow.     They  attached  a  sunbeam  to  each  end  of  the  log. 
All  the  gods  except  those  who  were  engaged  in  preparing  the  tur- 
key tried  to  move  the  log,  but  they  could  not  stir  it ;  and  they  sent 
for  the  six  who  were  at  work  on  the  turkey  to  come  to  their  aid. 
Two  of  the  Ga/zasku/i  were  now  stationed  at  each  end,  and  two  of 
the  //astje^o^an  in  the  middle.     The  others  were  stationed  at  other 
parts.      The  Ga?zaski^i  put  their  wands  under  the  log  crosswise, 
thus,  X.     All  lifted  together,  and  the  log  was  carried  along.     Some 
of  them  said :  "If  strength  fail  us  and  we  let  the  log  fall,  we  shall 
not  attempt  to  raise  it  again,  and  the  Navaho  will .  not  make  his 
journey."     As  they  went  along  some  became  tired  and  were  about 
to  let  the  log  go,  but  the  winds  came  to  help  them  —  Black  Wind 
and  Blue  Wind  in  front,  Yellow  Wind  and  White  Wind  behind,  and 
soon  the  log  was  borne  to  the  margin  of  the  river.     As  they  went 
along,  To'nemli,98  the  Water  Sprinkler,  made  fun  and  played  tricks, 
as  he  now  does  in  the  dances,  to  show  that  he  was  pleased  with 
what  they  were  doing.     While  the  gods  were  at  work  the  Navaho 
sang  five  songs,  each  for  a  different  part  of  the  work ;  the  signifi- 
cant words  of  the  songs  were  these  :  — 


Na£iries\\\ani.  167 

First  Song,  "  A  beautiful  tree  they  fell  for  me." 
Second  Song,  "  A  beautiful  tree  they  prepare  for  me." 
Third  Song,  "  A  beautiful  tree  they  finish  for  me." 
Fourth  Song,  "  A  beautiful  tree  they  carry  with  me." 
Fifth  Song,  "  A  beautiful  tree  they  launch  with  me."  283 

481.  When  they  threw  the  log  on  the  surface  of  the  water  it 
floated  around  in  different  directions,  but  would  not  go  down  stream, 
so  the  gods  consulted  together  to  determine  what  they  should  do. 
They  covered  the  log  first  with  black  mist  and  then  with  black  cloud. 
Some  of  the  gods  standing  on  the  banks  punched  the  log  with  their 
plumed  wands,  when   it  approached  the  shore  or  began  to  whirl 
round,  and  they  kept  this  up  till  it  got  into  a  straight  course,  with 
its  head  pointed  down  stream,  and  floated  on.     When  the  gods  were 
punching  the  log  to  get  it  into  the  current,  the  Navaho  sang  a  song, 
the  principal  words  of  which  were  :  — 

1.  "A  beautiful  tree,  they  push  with  me." 

When  the  log  was  about  to  go  down  the  stream,  he  sang  :  — 

2.  "  A  beautiful  tree  is  about  to  float  along  with  me," 

and  when  the  log  got  into  the  current  and  went  down,  he  sang :  — 

3.  u  A  beautiful  tree  floats  along  with  me."  ^ 

482.  All  went  well  till  they  approached  a  pueblo  called  Kfiidfo/lfe, 
or  Blue  House,208  when  two  of  the  Kisani,  who  were  going  to  hunt 
eaglets,  saw  the  log  floating  by,  though  they  could  not  see  the  gods 
that  guided  its  course.    Wood  was  scarce  around  Blue  House.    When 
the  men  saw  the  log  they  said,  "  There  floats  a  big  tree.     It  would 
furnish  us  fuel  for  many  days  if  we  could  get  it.     We  must  try  to 
bring  it  to  the  shore."     The  two  men  ran  back  to  the  pueblo  and 
announced  that  a  great  log  was  coming  down  the  river.     A  number 
of  people  turned  out  to  seize  it.     Most  of  them  ran  down  the  stream 
to  a  shallow  place  where  they  could  all  wade  in,  to  await  the  arrival 
of  the  log,  while  a  few  went  up  along  the  bank  to  herald  its  ap- 
proach.    When  it  came  to  the  shallow  place  they  tried  to  break  off 
branches,  but  failed.     They  tied  ropes  to  the  branches,  and  tried  to 
pull  it  ashore  ;  but  the  log,  hurried  on  by  the  current,  carried  the 
crowd  with  it.     But  the  next  time  the  log  got  to  a  shallow  place  the 
Kisani  got  it  stranded,  and  sent  back  to  the  pueblo  for  axes,  intend- 
ing to  cut  off  branches  and  make  the  log  light.     When  the  gods 
saw  the  people  coming  with  axes  they  said  :  "  Something  must  be 
done."     They  sent  down  a  great  shower  of  rain,  but  the  Kisani 
held  on  to  the  log.     They  sent  hail,  with  hailstones  as  big  as  two 
fists  ;  but  still  the  Kisani  held  on.     They  sent  lightning  to  the  right 
—  the  people  to  the  left  held  on.     They  sent  lightning  to  the  left  — 
the  people  to  the  right  held  on.     They  sent  lightning  in  all  direc- 


1 68  Navaho  Legends. 

tions  four  times,  when,  at  last,  the  Kisani  let  go  and  the  log  floated 
on.  Now  the  gods  laid  upon  the  log  a  cloud  so  thick  that  no  one 
could  see  through  it ;  they  put  a  rainbow  lengthwise  and  a  rainbow 
crosswise  over  it,  and  they  caused  the  zigzag  lightning  to  flash  all 
around  it.  When  the  Kisani  saw  all  these  things  they  began  to  fear. 
"  The  gods  must  guard  this  log,"  they  said.  "  Yes,"  said  the  chief. 
"  Go  to  your  homes,  and  let  the  log  pass  on.  It  must  be  holy." 

483.  The  log  floated  steadily  with  the  stream  till  it  came  to  a  place 
where  a  ridge  of  rocks,  standing  nearly  straight  up,  disturbs  the 
current,  and  here  the  log  became  entangled  in  the  rocks.     But  two 
of  the  Fringe-mouths209  of  the  river  raised  it  from  the  rocks  and 
set  it  floating  again.     They  turned  the  log  around,  one  standing  at 
each  end,  until  they  got  it  lying  lengthwise  with  the  current,  and 
then  they  let  it  float  away. 

484.  Thence  it  floated  safely  to   Tfrkodoflls,  where  the  gods  on 
the  bank  observed  it  stopping  and  slowly  sinking,  until  only  a  few- 
leaves  on  the  ends  of  the  branches  could  be  seen.     It  was  the  sacred 
people  under  the  water  who  had  pulled  the  log  down  this  time. 
These  were  Tieholtsodi,  Tie//;/,210  Frog,   Fish,  Beaver,  Otter,  and 
others.     They  took  the  Navaho  out  of  the  log  and  bore  him  down 
to  their  home  under  the  water.     The  gods  on  the  bank  held  a  coun- 
cil to  consider  why  the  tree  stuck.     They  shook  it  and  tried  to  get 
it  loose,  but  they  could  not  move  it.     Then  they  called  on  Tb'nemli, 
Water  Sprinkler,  to  help   them.      He  had  two  magic  water  jars, 
Tb'sa^i/yiV,  the  black  jar,  which  he  carried  in  his  right   hand,  and 
Tb'sadfo/ll's,  the  blue  jar,  which  he  carried  in  his  left  hand ;  with 
these  he  struck  the  water  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  crying  as  he 
did  so  his  call  of  "  Tu'wu'wu'wu  !  "     The  water  opened  before  him 
and  allowed  him  to  descend.     He  went  around  the  tree,  and  when 
he  came  to  the  butt  he  found  that  the  plug  had  been  withdrawn  and 
that  the  Navaho  was  no  longer  there.    He  called  up  to  his  friends  on 
the  bank  and  told  them  what  he  had  found.     They  spread  a  short 
rainbow  211  for  him  to  travel  on,  and  he  went  to  the  house  of  the  divine 
ones  under  the  water.     This  house  consisted  of  four  chambers,  one 
under  another,   like  the  stories  of   a  pueblo   dwelling.     The  first 
chamber,  that  on  top,  was  black ;  the  second  was  blue ;  the  third 
yellow  ;  the  fourth  white.18     Two  of  the  Tie/in,  or  water  pets  with 
blue  horns,  stood  at  the  door  facing  one  another,  and  roared   as 
To'nenili  passed.     He  descended  from  one  story  to  another,  but 
found  no  one  till  he  came  to  the  last  chamber,  and  here  he  saw 
Tieholtsodi,  the  water  monster ;  Xral,  Frog  (a  big  rough  frog) ;  T^a, 
Beaver,   Tabas/i/z,  Otter,  Tlo'ayumlftigi  (a  great  fish),  and  the  cap- 
tive  Navaho.      "  I   seek  my   grandchild.      Give  him  to  me,"    said 
To'nenili.     "  Shut    your    mouth    and    begone,"    said    Tieholtsodi. 


JVaiifnesi\\ani.  169 

"Such  as  you  cannot  come  here  giving  orders.  I  fear  you  not, 
Water  Sprinkler ;  you  shall  not  have  your  grandchild."  Then  7o'- 
nenili  went  out  again  and  told  his  friends  what  had  happened  to 
him,  and  what  had  been  said  in  the  house  of  Tieholtsodi  under  the 
water. 

485.  The  gods  held  another  council.  "  Who  shall  go  down  and 
rescue  our  grandchild  ? "  was  the  question  they  asked  one  another. 
While  they  were  talking  Hastsezmi  212  (Black  God),  who  owns  all 
fire,  sat  apart  and  took  no  part  in  the  council.  He  had  built  a  fire, 
while  the  others  waited,  and  sat  with  his  back  to  it,  as  was  his  custom. 
"  Go  tell  your  grandfather  there  what  has  occurred,"  said  the  others 
to  To'nemli.  The  latter  went  over  to  where  HasUe-s-ini  sat.  "  Why 
are  they  gathered  together  yonder  and  of  what  do  they  talk  so  an- 
grily ?  "  said  the  Black  God.  In  answer,  76'nenili  told  of  his  adven- 
tures under  the  water  and  what  Tieholtsodi  had  said  to  him.  //astre- 
zmi  was  angry  when  he  heard  all  this.  "  I  fear  not  the  sacred  people 
beneath  the  water,"  he  said.  "I  shall  have  my  grandchild."  He 
hastened  to  the  river,  taking  To'nenili  with  him,  for  To'nemli  had 
the  power  to  open  the  water,  and  these  two  descended  into  the  river. 
When  they  reached  the  room  where  Tieholtsodi  sat,  the  Black  God 
said,  "  We  come  together  for  our  grandchild."  "  Run  out  there, 
both  of  you.  Such  as  you  may  not  enter  here,"  said  Tieholtsodi. 
"  I  go  not  without  my  grandson.  Give  him  to  me,  and  I  shall  go," 
said  the  other.  "  Run  out,"  repeated  Tieholtsodi,  "  I  shall  not  re- 
lease your  grandchild."  "I  shall  take  my  grandchild.  I  fear  you 
not."  "  I  shall  not  restore  him  to  you.  I  heed  not  your  words." 
"  I  never  recall  what  I  have  once  spoken.  I  have  come  for  my 
grandchild,  and  I  shall  not  leave  without  him."  "I  said  you  should 
not  go  with  him,  and  I  mean  what  I  say.  I  am  mighty."  Thus 
they  spoke  defiantly  to  one  another  for  some  time.  At  length 
//astjdsini  said :  "  I  shall  beg  no  longer  for  my  grandchild.  You 
say  you  are  mighty.  We  shall  see  which  is  the  more  powerful, 
you  or  I,"  and  Tieholtsodi  answered  :  "Neither  shall  I  ask  your  per- 
mission to  keep  him.  I  should  like  to  see  how  you  will  take  him 
from  me."  When  //asUezmi  heard  this  he  took  from  his  belt  his 
fire-stick  and  fire-drill.213  He  laid  the  stick  on  the  ground,  steadied 
it  with  both  feet,  and  whirled  the  drill  around,  pausing  four  times. 
The  first  time  he  whirled  the  drill  there  was  a  little  smoke  ;  the 
second  time  there  was  a  great  smoke  ;  the  third  time  there  was 
flame  ;  the  fourth  time  the  surrounding  waters  all  took  fire.  Then 
Tieholtsodi  cried  :  "Take  your  grandchild,  but  put  out  the  flames." 
"  Ah,"  said  //asUe^mi,  "  you  told  me  you  were  mighty.  Why  do 
you  implore  me  now  ?  Why  do  you  not  put  out  the  fire  your- 
self ?  Do  you  mean  what  you  say  this  time  ?  Do  you  really  want 


170  Navaho  Legends. 

the  fire  quenched?"  "Oh!  yes,"  cried  Tieholtsodi.  "Take  your 
grandchild,  but  put  out  the  flames.  I  mean  what  I  say."  At  a  sign 
from  Black  God,  Water  Sprinkler  took  the  stoppers  out  of  his  jars 
and  scattered  water  all  around  him  four  times,  crying  his  usual 
"  Tu'wu'wu'wu  "  as  he  did  so,  and  the  flames  died  out.  The  water  in 
76'nenili's  jars  consisted  of  all  kinds  of  water  —  he-rain,  she-rain, 
hail,  snow,  lake-water,  spring-water,  and  water  taken  from  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world.  This  is  why  it  was  so  potent.67 

486.  When  the  fire  was  extinguished  the  three  marched  out  in 
single  file  —  76'nemli  in  front,  to  divide  the  water,  the  Navaho  in 
the  middle,  and  //ast.ye.s'ini  in  the  rear.      Before  they  had  quite 
reached  the  dry  land  they  heard  a  flopping  sound  behind  them,  and, 
looking  around,  they  saw  Tra/,  the  Frog.    "Wait,"  said  he.    "I  have 
something  to  tell  you.     We  can  give  disease  to  those  who  enter  our 
dwelling,  and  there  are  cigarettes,  sacred  to  us,  by  means  of  which 
our  spell  may  be  taken  away.     The  cigarette  of  Tieholtsodi  should 
be  painted  black ;    that  of  Tie/iX   blue  ;  those  of  the  Beaver  and 
the  Otter,  yellow ;  that   of  the  great  fish,  and  that  sacred  to  me, 
white."     Therefore,  in  these  days,  when  a  Navaho  is  nearly  drowned 
in  the  water,  and  has  spewed  the  water  all  out,  such  cigarettes  12  are 
made  to  take  the  water  sickness  out  of  him. 

487.  The  gods  took  Natf'nes///ani    back  to  his  log.       To'nemli 
opened  a  passage  for  them  through  the  river,  and  took  the  water 
out  of  the  hollow  in  the  log.     The  Navaho  crawled  into  the  hollow. 
The  gods  plugged  the  butt  again,  and  set  the  log  floating.    It  floated 
on  and  on  until  it  came  to  a  fall  in  the  San  Juan   River,  and  here  it 
stuck  again.     The  gods  had  hard  labor  trying  to  get  it  loose.     They 
tugged  and  worked,  but  could  not  move  it.     At  length  the  Dsaha- 
dbld^a,  the  Fringe-mouths  of  the  water,   came  to  help.     They  put 
the  zigzag  lightning  which  was  on  their  bodies  209  under  the  butt  of 
the  log, — as  if  the  lightning  were  a  rope, — and  soon  they  got  the 
log  loose  and  sent  it  floating  down  the  river. 

488.  At  the  end  of  the  San  Juan  River,  surrounded  by  mountains, 
there  is  a  whirling  lake  or  large  whirlpool  called  To'nihili/z,  or  End 
of  the  Water.     When  the  log  entered  here  it  whirled  around  the 
lake  four  times.     The  first  time  it  went  around  it  floated  near  the 
shore,  but  it  gradually  approached  the  centre  as  it  went  round  again 
and  again.     From  the  centre  it  pointed  itself  toward  the  east  and 
got  near  the  shore  ;  but  it  retreated  again  to  the  centre,  pointed 
itself  to  the  south,  and  at  last  stranded  on  the  south  shore  of  the 
lake.    When  it  came  to  land  four  gods  stood  around  it  thus  :  //astre- 
7/o^-an  on  the  east,  //asUeyal/i  on  the  south,  one  Ga^aski^i  on  the 
west,  and  one  on  the  north.     They  pried  out  one  of  the  stoppers 
with  their  wands,  and  the  Navaho  came  out  on  the  land.    They  took 


171 

out  what  remained  of  the  food  they  had  given  him,  a  bow  of  cedar 
with  the  leaves  on,  and  two  reed  arrows  that  they  had  placed  in  the 
log  before  they  launched  it.  This  done,  they  plugged  the  log  again 
with  a  black  cloud. 

489.  Then  the  gods  spoke  to  the  Navaho  and  said  :  "  We  have 
taken  you  where  you  wished  to  go.     We  have  brought  you  to  the 
end  of  the  river.     We  have  done  for  you  all  that  in  the  beginning 
you  asked  us  to  do,  and  now  we  shall  give  you  a  new  name.    Hence- 
forth you  shall  be  called  A/joafrse/i,  He  Who  Floats.    Go  sit  yonder  " 
(pointing  out  a  place),  "  and  turn  your  back  to  us."     He  went  and 
sat  as  he  was  told,  and  soon  they  called  to  him  and  bade  him  go 
to  a  hill  west  of  the  lake.     When  he  ascended  it  he  looked  around 
and  saw  the  log  moving  back  in  the  direction  whence,  he  thought, 
he  had  come.     He  looked  all  around,  but  could  see  no  one.     The 
gods  had  disappeared,  and  he  was  all  alone.     He  sat  down  to  think. 
He  felt  sad  and  lonely.     He  was  sorry  he  had  come  ;  yet,  he  thought, 
"This  is  my  own  deed;  I  insisted  on  coming  here,  and  had  I  stayed 
at  home  I  might  have  been  killed."     Still  the  more  he  thought  the 
sadder  he  felt,  and  he  began  to  weep. 

490.  The  mountains  all  around  the  lake  were  very  precipitous, 
except  on   the  west  side.     Here  they  were  more  sloping,  and  he 
began  to  think  of  crossing,  when  he  heard  faintly  in  the  distance 


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Fig.  34.     Trail  of  turkey  approaching  his  master. 


the  gobbling  of  a  turkey.  He  paused  and  listened,  and  soon  heard 
the  gobbling  again,  more  distinctly  and  apparently  nearer.  In  a 
short  time  he  heard  the  sound  for  the  third  time,  but  louder  and 
clearer  than  before.  The  fourth  time  that  the  gobbling  was  heard 
it  seemed  very  loud  and  distinct  ;  and  a  moment  later  he  beheld, 


172  Navaho  Legends. 

running  toward  him,  his  pet  turkey,  whom  he  had  thought  he  would 
never  see  again.  The  turkey,  which  had  followed  him  all  the  way 
down  the  San  Juan  River,  now  approached  its  master  from  the  east, 
as  if  it  were  coming  to  him  at  once  ;  but  when  it  got  within  arm's 
length  of  the  man  it  retreated  and  went  round  him  sunwise,  ap- 
proaching and  retreating  again  at  the  south,  the  west,  and  the  north. 
When  it  got  to  the  east  again  it  ran  up  to  its  master  and  allowed 
itself  to  be  embraced.  (Fig.  34  shows  the  way  it  approached  its 
master.)  "  A/^alani,  s\l\n  (Welcome,  my  pet),"  said  Na/i'nes/^ani,  "  I 
am  sorry  for  you  that  you  have  followed  me,  I  pity  you ;  but  now 
that  you  are  here,  I  thank  you  for  coming." 

491.  The  man  now  began  to  think  again  of  crossing  the  mountain 
in  the  west,  but  suddenly  night  came  on.     He  had  not  noticed  the 
light  fading  until  it  was  too  dark  to  begin  the  journey,  and  he  felt 
obliged  to  seek  a  resting-place  for  the  night.     They  went  to  a  gulch 
near  at  hand  where  there  were  a  few  small  cedar-trees.    They  spread 
out,  for  a  bed,  the  dead  leaves  and  the  soft  debris  which  they  found 
under  the  trees  and  lay  down,  side  by  side,  to  sleep.     The  Navaho 
spread  his  bark  blanket  over  himself,  and  the  turkey  spread  one  of 
its  wings  over  its  master,  and  he  slept  well  that  night. 

492.  Next  morning  they  rose  early  and  went  out  to  hunt  wood- 
rats.     They  went  down  a  small  winding  valley  till  they  came  to  a 
beautiful  flat,  through  which  ran  a  stream  of  water.    "  This  would  be 
a  good  place  for  a  farm  if  I  had  but  the  seeds  to  plant,"  said  the 
Navaho  aloud.     When  he  had  spoken  he  observed  that  his  turkey 
began  to  act  in  a  very  peculiar  manner.     It  ran  to  the  western  bor- 
der of  the  flat,  circled  round  to  the  north,  and  then  ran  directly 
from  north  to  south,  where  it  rejoined  its  master,  who  had  in  the 
mean  time  walked  around  the  edge  of  the  flat  from  east  to  west. 
This  (fig.  35)  shows  how  they  went.     When  they  met  they  walked 
together  four  times  around  the  flat,  gradually  approaching  the  centre 
as  they  walked.     Here,  in  the  centre,  the  man  sat  down  and  the 
turkey  gambolled  around  him.     "  My  pet,"  said  the  Navaho,  "what 
a  beautiful  farm  I  could  make  here  if  I  only  had  the  seeds."     The 
turkey  gobbled  in  reply  and  spread  out  its  wings. 

493.  Na/i'nes///ani  had  supposed  that  when  the  gods  were  prepar- 
ing the  log  for  him  they  had  done  something  to  the  turkey,  but 
what  they  had  done  he  knew  not.     Now  that  his  pet  was  acting  so 
strangely,  it  occurred  to  him  that  perhaps  it  could  aid  him.     "  My 
pet,"    he   said,  "can   you   do  anything  to   help   me  make   a  farm 
here  ? "     The  turkey  ran  a  little  way  to  the  east  and  shook  its  wings, 
from  which  four  grains  of  white  corn  dropped  out ;  then  it  ran  to 
the  south  and  shook  from  its  wings  four  grains  of  blue  corn  ;  at  the 
west  it  shook  out  four  grains  of  yellow  corn,  and  at  the  north  four 


Natt'riesfoani. 

grains  of  variegated  corn.  Then  it  ran  up  to  its  master  from  the 
east  and  shook  its  wings  four  times,  each  time  shaking  out  four 
seeds.  The  first  time  it  dropped  pumpkin  seeds  ;  the  second  time, 
watermelon  seeds  ;  the  third  time,  muskmelon  seeds ;  the  fourth 
time,  beans.  "  E'yehe,  slim  (Thanks,  my  pet).  I  thought  you  had 
something  for  me,"  said  Na/i'nes//£ani. 

494.  He  went  away  from  the  flat,  roasted  wood-rats  for  a  meal, 
and  when  he  had  eaten  he  made  two  planting  sticks,  one  of  grease- 
wood  and  one  of  tsintli'zi  2M  (Fendleria  rupicold).  He  returned  to 
the  flat  and  began  to  make  his  farm.  He  dug  four  holes  in  the  east 


Fig.  35.     Tracks  of  man  and  turkey. 

with  the  stick  of  tsintli'zi,  and  dropped  into  each  hole  a  grain  of 
white  corn.  He  dug  four  holes  in  the  south  with  his  greasewood 
stick,  and  placed  in  each  hole  one  grain  of  blue  corn.  He  dug  four 
holes  in  the  west  with  the  tsmtli'zi  stick,  and  planted  in  each  one 
grain  of  -yellow  corn.  He  made  four  holes  in  the  north  with  the 
greasewood,  and  put  in  each  one  grain  of  variegated  corn.  With 
the  implement  of  tslntlfzi  he  planted  the  pumpkin  seed  between  the 
white  corn  and  the  blue  corn.  With  the  implement  of  greasewood 
he  planted  watermelon  seed  between  the  blue  corn  and  the  yellow 
corn.  With  the  stick  of  tsmtli'zi  he  planted  muskmelon  seeds  be- 
tween the  yellow  corn  and  the  variegated  corn.  With  the  stick  of 
greasewood  he  planted  beans  between  the  variegated  corn  and  the 
white  corn.215  He  looked  all  around  to  see  if  he  had  done  every- 
thing properly,  and  he  went  to  the  west  of  his  farm  among  the  foot- 
hills and  camped  there. 


1 74  Navaho  Legends. 

495.  He  felt  uneasy  during  the  night,  fearing  that  there  might  be 
some  one  else  to  claim  the  land,  and  he  determined  to  examine  the 
surrounding  country  to  see  if  he  had  any  neighbors.     Next  day  he 
walked  in  a  circle,  sunwise,  around  the  valley,  and  this  he  did  for 
four  consecutive  days,  taking  a  wider  circle  each  day ;  but  he  met  no 
people  and  saw  no  signs  of  human  life,  and  he  said  :  "  It  is  a  good 
place  for  a  farm.     No  one  claims  the  land  before  me."     Each  morn- 
ing, before  he  went  on  his  journey,  he  visited  his  farm.     On  the 
fourth  morning  he  saw  that  the  corn  had  grown  half  a  finger-length 
above  the  ground. 

496.  On  the  fourth  night,  after  his  long  day's  walk  around  the 
valley,  when  darkness  fell,  he  sat  by  his  fire  facing  the  east,  and  was 
surprised  to  see  a  faint  gleam  half  way  up  the  side  of  the  mountains 
in  the  east.     "  Strange,"    he   said,  "  I  have  travelled  all  over  that 
ground  and  have  seen  neither  man  nor  house  nor  track  nor  the  re- 
mains of  fire."    Then  he  spoke  to  the  turkey,  saying  :  "  Stay  at  home 
to-morrow,  my  pet ;  I  must  go  and  find  out  who  builds  that  fire." 

497.  Next  day,  leaving  his  turkey  at  home,  he  went  off  to  search 
the  mountain-side,  where  he  had  seen  the  gleam  ;  but  he  searched 
well  and  saw  no  signs  of  human  life.     When  he  came  home  he  told 
all  his  adventures  to  his  turkey  and  said  :  "  It  must  have  been  a 
great  glow-worm  that  I  beheld."     He  got  home  pretty  early  in  the 
day  and  went  out  to  trap  wood-rats,  accompanied  by  his  turkey.    In 
the  evening  when  he  returned  to  his  camp,  he  looked  again,  after 
dark,  toward  the  eastern  mountain,  and  saw  the  gleam  as  he  had 
seen  it  the  night  before.     He  set  a  forked  stick  in  the  ground,  got 
down  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  looked  at  the  fire  through  the 
fork.     (See  par.  382.) 

498.  On  the  following  morning  he  placed  himself  in  the  same 
position  he  was  in  the  night  before,  —  putting  his  hands  and  knees 
in  the  tracks  then  made,  —  and  looked  again  over  the  forked  stick. 
He  found  his  sight  directed  to  a  spot  which  he  had  already  ex- 
plored well.     Notwithstanding  this  he  went  there  again,  leaving  his 
turkey  behind,  and  searched  wider  and  farther  and  with  greater 
care  than  on  previous  occasions  ;    but  he  still    saw  no   traces  of 
human  life.     When  he  returned  to  camp  he  told  his  turkey  all  that 
had  happened  to  him.     That  night  he  saw  the  light  again,  and  once 
more  he  sighted  over  the  forked  stick  with  care. 

499.  When  morning  came,  he  found  that  he  had  marked  the  same 
spot  he  had  marked  before  ;  and  though  he  had  little  hope  he  set 
out  for  the  third   time   to  find  who    made   the   distant   fire.     He 
returned  after  a  time,  only  to  tell  his  disappointment  to  his  turkey. 
As  usual  he  spent  the  rest  of  the  day,  accompanied  by  the  turkey, 
setting  traps  for  wood-rats  and  other  small  animals.     After  dark, 


Naitriesi\iani.  1 75 

when  he  saw  the  distant  flame  again,  he  set  a  second  forked  stick  in 
the  ground  and  laid  between  the  two  forks  a  long,  straight  stick, 
which  he  aimed  at  the  fire  as  he  would  aim  an  arrow.  When  this 
was  done  he  went  to  sleep. 

500.  Next  morning  he  noted  with  great  care  the  particular  spot 
to  which  the  straight  stick  pointed,  and  set  out  to  find  the  fire. 
Before  he  left  he  said  to  his  turkey  :  "  I  go  once  more  to  seek  the 
distant  fire ;  but  it  is  the  last  time  I  shall  seek  it.     If  I  find  it  not 
to-day,  I  shall  never  try  again.     Stay  here  till  I  return."     While  he 
spoke  the  turkey  turned  its  back  on  him,  and  showed  its  master  that 
it  was  angry.     It  acted  like  a  pouting  child.     He  went  to  the  place 
on  the  eastern  mountain  to  which  the  stick  pointed,  and  here  he 
found,  what  he  had  not  observed  before,  a  shelf  in  the  rocks,  which 
seemed  to  run  back  some  distance.     He  climbed  to  the  shelf  and 
discovered  there  two  nice  huts.     He  thought  that  wealthy  people 
must  dwell  in  them.    He  felt  ashamed  of  his  ragged  bark  blanket,  of 
his  garment  of  wood-rat  skins,  of  his  worn  grass  sandals,  of  his  poor 
bow  and  arrows  ;  so  he  took  these  off,  laid  them  in  the  fork  of  a 
juniper-tree,  and,  retaining  only  his  breech-cloth  of  wood-rat  skins, 
his  belt,  tobacco  pouch,  and  pipe,  he  approached  one  of  the  houses. 

501.  He  pushed  aside  the  curtain  and  saw,  sitting  inside,  a  young 
woman  making  a  fine  buckskin    shirt  which    she   was   garnishing 
beautifully  with  fringes  and  shells.     Ashamed  of  his  appearance,  he 
hung  his  head  and  advanced,  looking  at  her  under  his  eyebrows. 
"  Where  are  the  men  ? "  he  said,  and  he  sat  on  the  ground.     The 
young  woman  replied  :   "  My  father   and    mother  are  in  the  other 
hut."     Just  as  the  Navaho  had  made  up  his  mind  to  go  to  the  other 
house  the  father  entered.    Doubtless  the  Navaho  had  been  observed 
while  disrobing,  for  the  old  man,  as  he  came  in,  brought  the  poor 
rags  with  him.     "  Why  do  you  not  take  in  my  son-in-law's  goods  ?  " 
said  the  old  man  to  his  daughter,  as  he  laid  the  ragged  bundle  in 
a  conspicuous  place  on  top  of  a  pile  of  fine  fabrics.     Poor  Nafl'- 
nes^ani   hung   his   head   again  in   shame  and  blushed,  while  the 
woman  looked  sideways  and  smiled.     "  Why  don't  you  spread  a  skin 
for  my  son-in-law  to  sit  on  ? "  said  the  old  man  to  his  daughter. 
She  only  smiled  and  looked  sideways  again.     The  old  man  took  a 
finely  dressed  Rocky  Mountain  sheep-skin  and  a  deer-skin,  —  skins 
finer  than  the  Navaho  had  ever  seen  before,  —  spread  them  on  the 
ground  beside  the  woman,  and  said  to  the  stranger  :  "  Why  do  you 
not  sit  on  the  skins?"     Na/fn£s/£ani  made  a  motion  as  if  to  rise 
and  take  the  offered  seat,  but  he  sank  back  again  in  shame.    Invited 
a  second  time,  he  arose  and  sat  down  beside  the  young  woman  on 
the  skins. 

502.  The  old  man  placed  another  skin  beside  the  Navaho,  sat  on 


176  Navaho  Legends. 

it,  tapped  the  visitor  on  the  knee  to  attract  his  attention,  and  said  : 
"  I  long  for  a  smoke.  Fill  your  pipe 216  with  tobacco  and  let  me 
smoke  it."  The  Navaho  answered:  "  I  am  poor.  I  have  nothing." 
Four  times  this  request  was  made  and  this  reply  given.  On  the 
fourth  occasion  the  Navaho  added  :  "I  belong  to  the  Ninoksu/ine'  (the 
People  up  on  the  Earth),217  and  I  have  nothing."  "  I  thought  the 
Ninoka^me*  had  plenty  of  tobacco,"  said  the  old  man.  The  young 
man  now  drew  from  his  pouch,  which  was  adorned  with  pictures  of 
the  sun  and  moon,  a  mixture  of  native  wild  tobacco  with  four  other 
plants.218  His  pipe  was  made  of  clay,  collected  from  a  place  where 
a  wood-rat  had  been  tearing  the  ground.  He  filled  the  pipe  with 
the  mixture,  lighted  it  with  the  sun,219  sucked  it  four  times  till  it 
was  well  kindled,  and  handed  it  to  the  old  man  to  smoke.  When 
the  latter  had  finished  the  pipe  and  laid  it  down  he  began  to  per: 
spire  violently  and  soon  fell  into  a  swoon.  The  young  woman 
thought  her  father  was  dead  or  dying,  and  ran  to  the  other  lodge  to 
tell  her  mother.  The  mother  gave  the  young  woman  a  quantity  of 
goods  and  said  :  "  Give  these  to  my  son-in-law  and  tell  him  they  shall 
all  be  his  if  he  restores  your  father  to  life."  When  the  daughter 
returned  to  the  lodge  where  her  father  lay,  she  said  to  the  Navaho : 
"  Here  are  goods  for  you.  Treat  my  father.  You  must  surely  know 
what  will  cure  him."  They  laid  the  old  man  out  on  his  side,  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor,  with  his  head  to  the  north  and  his  face  to  the 
east.  The  Navaho  had  in  his  pouch  a  medicine  called  ke'tlo,  or 
atsosi  ke'tlo,220  consisting  of  many  different  ingredients.  Where  he 
got  the  ingredients  we  know  not ;  but  the  medicine  men  now  collect 
them  around  the  headwaters  of  the  San  Juan.  He  put  some  of 
this  medicine  into  a  pipe,  lighted  it  with  the  sunbeams,  puffed  the 
smoke  to  the  earth,  to  the  sky,  to  the  earth,  and  to  the  sky  again  ; 
puffed  it  at  the  patient  from  the  east,  the  south,  the  west,  and  the 
north.  When  this  fumigation  was  done,  the  patient  began  to  show 
signs  of  life,  —  his  eyelids  twitched,  his  limbs  jerked,  his  body 
shook.  Na/i'nes///ani  directed  the  young  woman  to  put  some  of  the 
medicine,  with  water,  to  soak  in  an  earthen  bowl,  —  no  other  kind  of 
bowl  is  now  used  in  making  this  infusion,  —  and  when  it  was  soaked 
enough  he  rubbed  it  on  the  body  of  the  patient. 

503.  "  Sa^/ani,  s\t&  (My  son-in-law,  my  nephew),"  said  the  old 
man,  when  he  came  to  his  senses  once  more,  "  fill  the  pipe  for  me 
again.  I  like  your  tobacco."  The  Navaho  refused  and  the  old  man 
begged  again.  Four  times  did  the  old  man  beg  and  thrice  the 
young  man  refused  him  ;  but  when  the  fourth  request  was  made  the 
young  man  filled  the  pipe,  lit  it  as  before,  and  handed  it  to  the  old 
man.  The  latter  smoked,  knocked  out  the  ashes,  laid  down  the 
pipe,  began  to  perspire,  and  fell  again  into  a  deathly  swoon.  As  on 


Nati' nes\hani.  177 

the  previous  occasion,  the  women  were  alarmed  and  offered  the 
Navaho  a  large  fee,  in  goods,  if  he  would  restore  the  smoker  to  life. 
The  medicine  being  administered  and  the  ceremonies  being  re- 
peated, the  old  man  became  again  conscious. 

504.  As  soon  as  he  recovered  he  said :  "  My  son-in-law,  give  me 
another  smoke.     I   have  travelled  far  and  smoked  much  tobacco ; 
but  such  fine  tobacco  as  yours  I  never  smoked  before."     As  on  the 
other  occasions,  the  old  man  had  to  beg  four  times  before  his  request 
was  granted.    A  third  time  the  pipe  was  filled  ;  the  old  man  smoked 
and  swooned  ;  the  women  gave  presents  to  the  Navaho  ;  the  atsosi 
ke'tlo  was  administered,  and  the  smoker  came  to  life  again. 

505.  But  as  soon  as  he  regained  his  senses  he  pleaded  for  another 
smoke.     "  The  smoke  is  bad  for  you,"  said  the  Navaho.     "  It  does 
you  harm.    Why  do  you  like  my  tobacco  so  well  ?  "    "  Ah  !  it  makes 
me  feel  good  to  the  ends  of  my  toes.     It  smells  well  and  tastes 
well."     "Since  you  like  it  so  well,"  said  the  young  man,  "I  shall 
give  you  one  more  pipeful."     This  time  the  old  man  smoked  vigor- 
ously ;  he  drew  the  smoke  well  into  his  chest  and  kept  it  there  a 
long   time  before   blowing  it  out.     Everything   happened    now   as 
before,  but  in  addition  to  the  medicine  used  previously,  the  Navaho 
scattered   the   fragrant   yau/i^mi/ 221  on  the  hot  coals  and  let  the 
patient  breathe  its  fumes.    The  Navaho  had  now  four  large  bundles 
of  fine  goods  as  pay  for  his  services.     When  the  old  man  recovered 
for  the  fourth  time  he  praised  loudly  the  tobacco  of  the  Navaho. 
He  said  he  had  never  felt  so  happy  as  when  smoking  it.     He  asked 
the  Navaho :  "  How  would  you  like  to  try  my  tobacco  ? "  and  he 
went  to  the  other  lodge  to  fetch  his  tobacco  pouch.     While  he  was 
gone  the  Wind  People  whispered  into  the  ear  of  the  Navaho  :  "  His 
tobacco  will  kill  you  surely.     It  is  not  like  your  tobacco.     Those 
who  smoke  it  never  wake  again  !  " 

506.  Presently  the  old  man  returned  with  a  pouch  that  had  pic- 
tures of  the  sun  and  moon  on   it,  and  with  a  large  pipe  —  much 
larger  than  that  of  the  Navaho  —  decorated  with  figures  of  deer, 
antelope,  elk,  and  Rocky  Mountain  sheep.222     The  old  man  filled  his 
pipe,  lighted  it,  puffed  the  smoke  to  earth  and  sky,  each  twice,  alter- 
nately, and  handed  the  pipe  to  the  Navaho.     The  young  man  said : 
"  I  allow  no  one  to  fill  the  pipe  for  me  but  myself.     My  customs 
differ  from  yours.     You  ask  a  stranger  for  a  smoke.     I  ask  no  man 
for  a  smoke.     I    pick   my  own   tobacco.     Other   people's   tobacco 
makes  me  ill ;  that  is  why  I  do  not  use  it."     Thus  he  spoke,  yet  the 
stuff  he  had  given  the  old  man  to  smoke  was  not  the  same  that  he 
used   himself.      The   latter   consisted  of   four   kinds    of   tobacco  : 
glona/o,  or  weasel  tobacco,  dfepenafo,  or  sheep  tobacco,  dsiVna/o,  or 
mountain  tobacco,  and  kosnato,  or  cloud  tobacco.223     He  had  differ- 


1 78  Navaho  Legends. 

ent  compartments  in  his  pouch  for  his  different  mixtures.  The  old 
man  invited  him  four  times  to  smoke ;  but  four  times  the  Navaho 
refused,  and  said  at  last :  "  I  have  my  pipe  already  filled  with  my 
own  tobacco.  I  shall  smoke  it.  My  tobacco  injures  no  one  unless 
he  is  ill."  He  proceeded  to  smoke  the  pure  tobacco.  When  he  had 
done  smoking,  he  said  :  "  See.  It  does  me  no  harm.  Try  another 
pipeful." 

507.  He  now  filled  his  pipe  with  the  mixture  of  four  kinds  of  real 
tobacco  and  handed  it  to  the  old  man  to  smoke.     When  the  latter 
had  finished  he  said  :  "  Your  tobacco  does  not  taste  as  it  did  before, 
and  I  do  not  now  feel  the  same  effect  after  smoking  it  as  I  did  at 
first.     Now  it  cools  me  ;  formerly  it  made  me  perspire.     Why  did 
I  fall  down  when  I  smoked  it  before  ?     Tell  me,  have  I  some  dis- 
ease ? "     The  Navaho  answered  :    "  Yes.     It  is  yaji'ntrogi,   some- 
thing bad  inside  of  you,    that   makes  the  tobacco  affect  you  so. 
There  are  four  diseases  that  may  cause  this :  they  are  the  yellow 
disease,  the  cooked-blood  disease,  the  water-slime  disease,  and  the 
worm  disease.     One  or  more  of  these  diseases  you  surely  have."224 
The  old  man  closed  his  eyes  and  nodded  his  head  to  show  that  he 
believed  what  was  told  him.     Of  course  the  Navaho  did  not  believe 
what  he  himself  had  said ;  he  only  told  this  to  the  old  man  to  conceal 
the  fact  that  he  had  filled  the  pipe  with  poisoned  tobacco. 

508.  While  all  these  things  were  happening  the  Navaho  had  paid 
no  heed  to  how  the  day  was  passing  ;  but  now  he  became  suddenly 
aware  that  it  was  late  in  the  afternoon  and  that  the  sun  was  about 
to  set.     "  I  must  hasten  away.     It  is  late,"  he  said.     "  No,  my  son- 
in-law  ;    do  not  leave  us,"  pleaded  the  old  man.     "Sleep  here  to- 
night."    He  ordered  his  daughter  to  make  a  bed  for  the  stranger. 
She  spread  on  the  floor  fine  robes  of  otter-skin  and  beaver-skin, 
beautifully  ornamented.     He  laid  down  on  the  rugs  and  slept  there 
that  night. 

509.  Next  morning  the  young  woman  rose  early  and  went  out. 
Soon  after  her  departure  the  old  man  entered  the  lodge  and  said  to 
his  guest :  "  I  and  my  daughter  were  so  busy  yesterday  with  all  that 
you  did  to  me,  and  all  the  cures  you  wrought  on  me,  that  we  had  no 
time  to  cook  food  and  eat ;  neither  had  you.     She  has  gone  now  to 
prepare  food.      Stay  and  eat  with  us."     Presently  the  young  woman 
returned,  bringing  a  dish  of  stewed  venison  and  a  basket  filled  with 
mush  made  of  wild   seeds.      The  basket  was  such  a  one  as  the 
Navahoes  now  use  in  their  rites.5     On  the  aMatlo  (the  part  where 
the  coil  terminates,   the  point  of   finish),  the  old  man  had,  with 
the  knowledge  of  his  daughter,  placed  poison.     She  presented  the 
basket  to  the  stranger,  with  the  point  of  finish  toward  him,  as  her 
father  had  directed  her  to  do,  saying  :  "  When  a  stranger  visits  us 


Natiriesfaani.  1 79 

we  always  expect  him  to  eat  from  the  part  of  the  basket  where  it  is 
finished."  As  he  took  the  basket  the  Wind  People 75  whispered  to 
him  :  "  Eat  not  from  that  part  of  the  basket  ;  death  is  there,  but 
there  is  no  death  in  the  venison."  The  young  man  turned  the 
basket  around  and  began  to  eat  from  the  side  opposite  to  that  which 
was  presented  to  him,  saying :  "  It  is  my  custom  to  eat  from  the 
edge  opposite  to  the  point  of  finish."  He  did  not  eat  all  the  mush. 
He  tried  the  venison  stew ;  but  as  it  was  made  of  dried  meat  he  did 
not  like  it  and  ate  very  little  of  it.  When  he  had  done  she  took  the 
dishes  back  to  the  other  lodge.  "  From  which  side  of  the  basket 
did  my  son-in-law  eat  ? "  asked  the  old  man.  "  From  the  wrong 
side.  He  told  me  it  was  his  custom  never  to  eat  from  the  side 
where  the  basket  was  finished,"  said  the  young  woman.  Her  father 
was  surprised.  When  a  visitor  came  to  him  he  always  tried  the 
poisoned  tobacco  first  ;  if  that  failed  he  next  tried  the  poisoned 
basket.  "  My  husband  says  he  wants  to  go  home  now,"  said  the 
young  woman.  "  Tell  him  it  is  not  the  custom  for  a  man  to  go 
home  the  morning  after  his  marriage.  He  should  always  remain 
four  days  at  least,"  said  the  old  man.  She  brought  this  message 
back  to  the  Navaho.  He  remained  that  day  and  slept  in  the  lodge 
at  night. 

510.  Next  morning  the  young  woman  rose  early  again  and  went 
to  the  other  lodge.     Soon  after  she  was  gone  the  old  man  entered 
and  said  to  Nafl'nes/^ani :  "  You  would  do  well  not  to  leave  till  you 
have  eaten.     My  daughter  is  preparing  food  for  you."     In  a  little 
while,  after  he  left,  the  young  woman  entered,  bringing,  as  before,  a 
dish  of  stewed  venison  and  a  basketful  of  mush,  which  she  handed 
to  the  Navaho  without  making  any  remark.     But  Wind  whispered  : 
"There  is  poison  all  around  the  edge  of  the  basket  this  time ;  there 
is  none  in  the  venison."     The  Navaho  ate  some  of  the  stew,  and 
when  he  took  the  basket  of  mush  he  ate  only  from  the  middle,  say- 
ing :  "When  I  eat  just  as  the  sun  is  about  to  come  up,  it  is  my  cus- 
tom to  eat  only  from  the  middle  of  the  basket."    The  sun  was  about 
to  rise  as  he  spoke.     When  she  went  back  to  the  other  lodge  with 
the  remains  of  the  meal,  her  father  asked :  "  How  did  he  eat  this 
morning  ?  "     She  replied  :  "  He  ate  the  stew  ;  but  the  mush  he  ate 
only  from  the  middle  of  the  basket."     "  Ahahaha ! "  said  the  old 
man,  "it  never  took  me  so  long,  before."     The  Navaho  remained  in 
the  lodge  all  that  day  and  all  night. 

511.  The  next  (third)  morning  things  happened  as  before:  the 
woman  rose  early,  and  while  she  was  gone  the  old  man  came  into 
the  lodge,  saying :  "  The  women  are  cooking  food  for  you.     Don't 
go  out  till  you  have  eaten."    The  reason  they  gave  their  visitor  only 
one  meal  a  day  was  that  he  might  be  so  ravenous  with  hunger  when 


180  Navaho  Legends. 

it  came  that  he  would  not  notice  the  poison  and  would  eat  plenty  of 
it.  When  the  food  was  brought  in,  the  Wind  People  whispered  to 
the  Navaho  :  "  Poison  is  mixed  all  through  the  mush,  take  none  of 
it."  He  ate  heartily  of  the  stew,  and  when  he  was  done  he  said  to 
the  young  woman  :  "  I  may  eat  no  mush  to-day.  The  sun  is  already 
risen,  and  I  have  sworn  that  the  sun  shall  never  see  me  eat  mush." 
When  she  went  back  to  the  other  lodge  her  father  asked :  "  How 
did  my  son-in-law  eat  this  morning?"  "  He  ate  only  of  the  stew," 
she  said.  "  He  would  not  touch  the  mush."  "  Ahahaha,"  said  the 
old  man  in  a  suspicious  tone  ;  but  he  said  no  more.  Again  the 
Navaho  stayed  all  day  and  all  night. 

512.  On  the  fourth  morning  when  the  daughter  went  to  prepare 
food  and  the  old  man  entered  the  lodge,  he  said :  "  Go  out  some- 
where to-day.     Why  do  you  not  take  a  walk  abroad  every  day  ?     Is 
it  on  your  wife's  account  that  you  stay  at  home  so  much,  my  son-in- 
law  ?  "     When  the  young  woman  brought  in  the  usual  venison  stew 
and  basket  of  mush,  Wind  whispered :  "  All  the  food  is  poisoned  this 
morning."     When  she  handed  the  food  to  the  young  man  he  said  : 
"  I  do  not  eat  at  all  to-day.    It  is  my  custom  to  eat  no  food  one  day 
in  every  four.     This  is  the  day  that  I  must  fast."     When  she  took 
the  untasted  food  back  to  the  other  lodge,   her  father  inquired : 
"  What  did  my  son-in-law  eat  this  morning  ?  "  and  she  answered : 
"  He  ate  nothing."    The  old  man  was  lying  when  he  spoke  ;  he  rose 
when  she  answered  him  and  carefully  examined  'the  food  she  had 
brought  back.    "  Truly,  nothing  has  been  touched,"  he  said.     "  This 
must  be  a  strange  man  who  eats  nothing.     My  daughter,  do  you  tell 
him  anything  he  should  not  know  ?  "     "  Truly,  I  tell  him  nothing," 
she  replied. 

513.  When  the  young  woman  came  back  again  from  her  father's 
lodge,  the  Navaho  said  to  her :  "  I  have  a  hut  and  a  farm  and  a 
pet  not  far  from  here  ;  I  must  go  home  to-day  and  see  them."     "  It 
is  well,"  she  said.     "You  may  go."     He  began  to  dress  for  the 
journey  by  putting  on  his  old  sandals.     She  brought  him  a  pair  of 
fine  new  moccasins,  beautifully  embroidered,  and  urged  him  to  put 
them  on  ;  but  he  refused  them,  saying :  "  I  may  put  them  on  some 
other  time.     I  shall  wear  my  old  sandals  to-day." 

514.  When  Na/i'nesMani  got  back  to  his  farm  he  found  the  tracks 
of  his  turkey  all  around,  but  the  turkey  itself  he  could  not' see.     It 
was  evident  from  the  tracks  that  it  had  visited  the  farm  and  gone 
back  to  the  hut  again.     The  Navaho  made  four  circuits  around  the 
hut  —  each  circuit  wider  than  the  preceding  —  to  see  whither  the 
tracks  led.     On  the  fourth  circuit  he  found  they  led  to  the  base  of  a 
mountain  which  stood  north  of  the  hut.     "  I  shall  find  my  pet  some- 
where around  the  mountain,"  thought  the  Navaho.     The  tracks  had 


Nati' nesfaani.  1 8 1 

the  appearance  of  being  four  days  old,  and  from  this  he  concluded 
that  the  turkey  had  left  the  same  day  he  had.  It  took  him  four 
days,  travelling  sunwise  and  going  spirally  up  the  mountain,  to  reach 
the  summit,  where  he  found  many  turkey  tracks,  but  still  no  turkey. 
He  fancied  his  pet  might  have  descended  the  mountain  again,  so  he 
went  below  and  examined  the  ground  carefully,  but  found  no  de- 
scending tracks.  He  returned  to  the  summit  and,  looking  more 
closely  than  at  first,  discovered  where  the  bird  had  flown  away  from 
a  point  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  summit  and  gone  apparently 
toward  the  east. 

515.  The  Navaho  sat  down,  sad  and  lonely,  and  wept.     "Dear 
pet,"  he  said,  "  would  that  I  had  taken  you  with  me  that  day  when 
I  set  out  on  my  journey.    Had  I  done  so  I  should  not  have  lost  you. 
Dear  pet,  you  were  the  black  cloud  ;  you  were  the  black  mist ;  you 
were  the  beautiful  he-rain;225  you  were  the  beautiful  she-rain;137 
you  were  the  beautiful  lightning ;  you  were  the  beautiful  rainbow ; 
you  were  the   beautiful  white  corn ;   you  were  the  beautiful  blue 
corn  ;  you  were  the  beautiful  yellow  corn ;  you  were  the  beautiful 
corn  of  all  colors  ;  you  were  the  beautiful  bean.     Though  lost  to 
me,  you  shall  be  of  use  to  men,  upon  the  earth,  in  the  days  to  come 
—  they  shall  use  your  feathers  and  your  beard  in  their  rites."     The 
Navaho  never  saw  his  pet  again  ;  it  had  flown  to  the  east,  and  from 
it  we  think  the  tame  turkeys  of  the  white  men  are  descended.     But 
all  the  useful  and  beautiful  things  he  saw  in  his  pet  are  still  to  be 
seen  in  the  turkey.     It  has  the  colors  of  all  the  different  kinds  of 
corn  in  its  feathers.     The  black  of  the  black  mist  and  the  black 
cloud  are  there.      The   flash   of   the   lightning  and  the  gleam  of 
the  rainbow  are  seen  on  its  plumes  when  it  walks  in  the  sun.     The 
rain  is  in  its  beard  ;  the  bean  it  carries  on  its  forehead. 

516.  He  dried  his  tears,  descended  the  mountain,  and  sought  his 
old  hut,  which  was  only  a  poor  shelter  of  brush,  and  then  he  went 
to  visit  his  farm.     He  found  his  corn  with  ears  already  formed  and 
all  the  other  plants  well  advanced  toward  maturity.226     He  pulled 
one  ear  from  a  stalk  of  each  one  of  the  four  different  kinds  of  corn, 
and,  wrapping  the  ears  in  his  mantle  of  wood-rat  skins,  went  off  to 
see  his  wife.     She  saw  him  coming,  met  him  at  the  door,  and  re- 
lieved him  of  his  weapons  and  bundle.     "  What  is  this  ?  "  she  said, 
pointing  to  the  bundle  after  she  had  laid  it  down.     He  opened  it. 
She  started  back  in  amazement.     She  had  never  seen  corn  before. 
He  laid  the  ears  down  side  by  side  in  a  row  with  their  points  to  the 
east,  and  said  :  "  This  is  what  we  call  naM^,  corn.     This  (pointing 
to  the  first  ear  —  the  most  northerly  of  the  row)  is  white  corn  ;  this 
(pointing  to  the  next)  is  blue  corn ;  this  (pointing  to  the  third)  is 
yellow  corn,  and  this  (pointing  to  the  fourth)  is  corn  of  all  colors."227 


182  Navaho  Legends 

"And  what  do  your  people  do  with  it?"  she  asked.  "We  eat  it," 
he  replied.  "  How  do  you  prepare  it  to  eat  ?  "  she  inquired.  He 
said  :  "  We  have  four  ways  when  it  is  green  like  this.  We  put  it, 
husk  and  all,  in  hot  coals  to  roast.  We  take  off  the  husk  and  roast 
it  in  hot  ashes.  We  boil  it  whole  in  hot  water.  We  cut  off  the 
grains  and  mix  it  with  water  to  make  mush." 

5 1 7.  She  wrapped  the  four  ears  in  a  bundle  and  carried  them  to 
the  other  lodge  to  show  them  to  her  parents.     Both  were  astonished 
and  alarmed.     The  old  man  rose  and  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  open 
hand  to  look  at  them.     They  asked  her  questions  about  the  corn, 
such  as  she  had  asked  her  husband,  and  she  answered  them  as  he 
had  answered  her.     She  cooked  the  four  ears  of  corn,  each  one  in  a 
different  way,   according  to  the    methods   her  husband   described. 
They  increased  in  cooking  so  that  they  made  food  enough  to  fur- 
nish a  hearty  meal  for  all.      The  old  people,   who  were  greatly 
pleased,  said  the  mush  smelled  like  fawn-cheese.228     "  Where  does 
my  son-in-law  get  this  fine  stuff  ?     Ask  him.     I  wish  to  know,  it  is 
so  delicious.     Does  he  not  want  some  himself  ?  "  said  the  old  man 
to  his  daughter.     She  brought  a  large  dish  of  the  corn  to  her  hus- 
band in  the  other  lodge,  and  they  ate  it  together.     The  Navaho  had 
no  fear  of  poison  this  time,  for  the  food  did  not  belong  to  the  old 
man. 

518.  At  night  when  they  were  alone  together  she   asked   him 
where  he  got  the  corn.     "  I  found  it,"  he  said.     "  Did  you  dig  it  out 
of  the  ground  ? "  she  asked.     "  No.     I  picked  it  up,"  was  his  an- 
swer.    Not  believing  him,  she  continued  to  question  him  until  at 
last  he  told  her :  "These  things  I  plant  and  they  grow  where  I  plant 
them.     Do  you  wish  to  see  my  field  ?  "     "  Yes,  if  my  father  will  let 
me,"  the  woman  replied. 

519.  Next  morning  she  told  her  father  what  she  had  found  out  on 
the  previous  night  and  asked  his  advice.     He  said  he  would  like  to 
have  her  go  with  Na/fnes^ani  to  see  what  the  farm  looked  like  and 
to  find  out  what  kind  of  leaves  the  plant  had  that  such  food  grew 
on.     When  she  came  back  from  her  father's  lodge  she  brought  with 
her  pemmican  made  of  venison  and  a  basket  of  mush.     The  Wind 
People  whispered  to  him  that  he  need  not  fear  the  food  to-day,  so 
he  ate  heartily  of  it.     When  the  breakfast  was  over,  the  Navaho 
said:    "Dress  yourself  for  the  journey,   and  as  soon  as  you  are 
ready  I  shall  take  you  to  my  farm."     She  dressed  herself  for  travel 
and  went  to  the  lodge  of  her  parents,  where  she  said :  "I  go  with 
my  husband  now."     "  It  is  well,"  they  said  ;  "go  with  him." 

520.  The  Navaho  and  his  wife  set  out  together.    When  they  came 
to  a  little  hill  from  which  they  could  first  see  the  field,  they  beheld 
the  sun  shining  on  it ;  yet  the  rain  was  falling  on  it  at  the  same 


183 

time,  and  above  it  was  a  dark  cloud  spanned  by  a  rainbow.  When 
they  reached  the  field  they  walked  four  times  around  it  sunwise,  and 
as  they  went  he  described  things  in  the  field  to  his  wife.  "  This  is 
my  white  corn,  this  is  my  blue  corn,  this  is  my  yellow  corn,  and  this 
is  my  corn  of  all  colors.  These  we  call  squashes,  these  we  call 
melons,  and  these  we  call  beans,"  he  said,  pointing  to  the  various 
plants.  The  bluebirds  and  the  yellowbirds  were  singing  in  the 
corn  after  the  rain,  and  all  was  beautiful.  She  was  pleased  and 
astonished  and  she  asked  many  questions,  —  how  the  seeds  were 
planted,  how  the  food  was  prepared  and  eaten,  —  and  he  answered 
all  her  questions.  "  These  on  the  ground  are  melons  ;  they  are  not 
ripe  yet.  When  they  are  ripe  we  eat  them  raw,"  he  explained. 
When  they  had  circled  four  times  around  the  field  they  went  in 
among  the  plants.  Then  he  showed  her  the  pollen  and  explained  its 
sacred  uses.11  He  told  her  how  the  corn  matured  ;  how  his  people 
husked  it  and  stored  it  for  winter  use,  how  they  shelled,  ground,  and 
prepared  it,  and  how  they  preserved  some  to  sow  in  the  spring. 
"  Now,  let  us  pluck  an  ear  of  each  kind  of  corn  and  go  home,"  he 
said.  When  she  plucked  the  corn  she  also  gathered  three  of  the 
leaves  and  put  them  into  the  same  bundle  with  the  corn  ;  but  as 
they  walked  home  the  leaves  increased  in  number,  and  when  she 
got  to  the  house  and  untied  the  bundle  she  found  not  only  three, 
but  many  leaves  in  it. 

521.  He  explained  to  her  how  to  make  the  dish  now  known  to 
the  Navahoes  as  d\t\6gi  klesan,230  and  told  her  to  make  this  of  the 
white  corn.  He  instructed  her  how  to  prepare  corn  as  ^Mogm 
t-ridikoi,231  and  told  her  to  make  this  of  the  blue  corn.  He  showed 
her  how  to  prepare  corn  in  the  form  of  ^abitra,232  or  three-ears, 
and  bade  her  make  this  of  the  yellow  corn.  He  told  her  to  roast, 
in  the  husk,  the  ear  of  many  colors.  She  took  the  corn  to  the  other 
lodge  and  prepared  it  as  she  had  been  directed.  In  cooking,  it  all 
increased  greatly  in  amount,  so  that  they  all  had  a  big  meal  out  of 
four  ears. 

•522.  The  old  people  questioned  their  daughter  about  the  farm  — 
what  it  looked  like,  what  grew  there.  They  asked  her  many  ques- 
tions. She  told  them  of  all  she  had  seen  and  heard :  of  her  distant 
view  of  the  beautiful  farm  under  the  rain,  under  the  black  cloud, 
under  the  rainbow ;  of  her  near  view  of  it  —  the  great  leaves,  the 
white  blossoms  of  the  bean,  the  yellow  blossoms  of  the  squash,  the 
tassel  of  the  corn,  the  silk  of  the  corn,  the  pollen  of  the  corn,  and 
all  the  other  beautiful  things  she  saw  there.  When  she  had  done 
the  old  man  said  :  "  I  thank  you,  my  daughter,  for  bringing  me  such 
a  son-in-law.  I  have  travelled  far,  but  I  have  never  seen  such  things 
as  those  you  tell  of.  I  thought  I  was  rich,  but  my  son-in-law  is 


184  Navaho  Legends. 

richer.     In  future  cook  these  things  with  care,  in  the  way  my  son- 
in-law  shows  you." 

523.  The  old  man  then  went  to  see  his  son-in-law  and  said :  "  I 
thank  you  for  the  fine  food  you  have  brought  us,  and  I  am  glad  to 
hear  you  have  such  a  beautiful  farm.     You  know  how  to  raise  and 
cook  corn  ;  but  do  you  know  how  to  make  and  cook  the  pemmican  ffi9 
of  the  deer  ?  "     "  I  know  nothing  about  it,"  said  the  Navaho.     (The 
one  knew  nothing  of  venison  ;  the  other  knew  nothing  of  corn.) 
"  How  does  it  taste  to  you  ? "  asked  the  old  man.     "  I  like  the  taste 
of  it  and  I  thank  you  for  what  you  have  given  me,"  replied  the 
Navaho.    "Your  wife,  then,  will  have  something  to  tell  you."  When 
he  got  back  to  the  other  lodge  he  said  :  "  My  son-in-law  has  been 
kind  to  us ;  he  has  shown  you  his  farm  and  taught  you  how  to  pre- 
pare his  food.     My  daughter,  now  we  must  show  him  our  farm." 
She  brought  to  her  husband  a  large  portion  of  the  cooked  corn. 

524.  When  night  came  and  they  were  alone  together  she  asked 
him  to  tell  her  his  name.     "  I  have  no  name,"  he  replied.     Three 
times  he  answered  her  thus.     When  she  asked  for  the  fourth  time 
he  said  :  "  Why  do  you  wish  to  know  my  name  ?    I  have  two  names. 
I  am  Na/fnes/^ani,  He  Who  Teaches  Himself,  and  I  am  A//o^/ise/i, 
He  Who  Has  Floated.     Now  that  I  have  told  you  my  name  you 
must  tell  me  your  father's  name."     "  He  is  called  Pi/zil/ani,  Deer 
Raiser.      I   am    Pi'ml/ani-bitsi',    Deer    Raiser's   Daughter,    and   my 
mother  is   Pi'ml/ani-baad,    She   Deer   Raiser,"   the  young   woman 
answered. 

525.  In  the  morning  after  this  conversation  they  had  a  breakfast 
of  mush  and  venison ;  but  Na/i'nes///ani  received  no  warning  from 
the  Wind  People  and  feared  not  to  eat.     When  the  meal  was  over, 
the  young  woman  said  to  her  husband  :  "  My  father  has  told  me 
that,  as  you  have  shown  me  your  farm,  I  may  now  show  you  his 
farm.     If  you  wish  to  go  there,  you  must  first  bathe  your  body  in 
yucca-suds  and  then  rinse  off  in  pure  water."     After  he  had  taken 
his  bath  as  directed  he  picked  up  his  old  sandals  and  was  about  to 
put  them  on  when  she  stopped  him,  saying  :  "  No.     You  wore  your 
own    clothes  when  you  went  to  your  own  farm.      Now  you  must 
wear  our  clothes  when  you    come  to  our  farm."      She  gave  him 
embroidered  moccasins ;    fringed    buckskin   leggings ;    a   buckskin 
shirt,   dyed  yellow,  beautifully  embroidered  with  porcupine  quills, 
and  fringed  with  stripes  of  otter-skin ;    and  a  headdress  adorned 
with  artificial  ears  called  T^aha^/olkohi  —  they  wore  such  in  the  old 
days,  and  there  are  men  still  living  who  have  seen  them  worn. 

526.  Dressed  in  these  fine  garments  he  set  out  with  his  wife  and 
they  travelled  toward  the  southeast.      As  they  were  passing  the 
other  hut  she  bade  him  wait  outside  while  she  went  in  to  procure  a 


Na  t  t'ries  th  an  i.  185 

wand  of  turquoise.  They  went  but  a  short  distance  (about  three 
hundred  yards)  233  when  they  came,  on  the  top  of  a  small  hill,  to  a 
large,  smooth  stone,  adorned  with  turquoise,  sticking  in  the  ground 
like  a  stopple  in  a  water-jar.  She  touched  this  rock  stopple  with 
her  wand  in  four  different  directions  —  east,  south,  west,  north  — 
and  it  sprang  up  out  of  the  ground.  She  touched  it  in  an  upward 
direction,  and  it  lay  over  on  its  side,  revealing  a  hole  which  led  to  a 
flight  of  four  stone  steps. 

527.  She  entered  the  hole  and  beckoned  to  him  to  follow.     When 
they  descended  the  steps  they  found  themselves  in  a  square  apart- 
ment with  four  doors  of  rock  crystal,  one  on  each  side.     There  was 
a  rainbow  over  each  door.     With  her  wand  she  struck  the  eastern 
door  and  it  flew  open,  disclosing  a  vast  and  beautiful  country,  like 
this  world,  but  more  beautiful.     How  vast  it  was  the  Navaho  knew 
not,  for  he  could  not  see  the  end  of  it.     They  passed  through  the 
door.     The  land  was  filled  with  deer  and  covered  with  beautiful 
flowers.     The  air  was  filled  with  the  odor  of  pollen  and  the  odor  of 
fragrant  blossoms.     Birds  of  the  most  beautiful  plumage  were  flying 
in  the  air,  perching  on  the  flowers,  and  building  nests  in  the  antlers 
of  the  deer.     In  the  distance  a  light  shower  of  rain  was  falling,  and 
rainbows  shone  in  every  direction.     "  This,  then,  is  the  farm  of  my 
father-in-law  which  you  promised  to  show  me,"  said   the   Navaho. 
"  It  is  beautiful ;  but  in  truth  it  is  no  farm,   for   I   see   nothing 
planted  here."     She  took  him  into  three  other  apartments.     They 
were  all  as  beautiful  as  the  first,  but  they  contained  different  ani- 
mals.    In  the  apartment  to  the  south  there  were  antelope  ;  in  that 
to  the  west,  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  ;  in  that  to  the  north,  elk. 

528.  When  they  closed  the  last  door  and  came  out  to  the  central 
apartment  they  found  Deer  Raiser  there.     "Has  my  son-in-law  been 
in  all  the  rooms  and  seen  all  the  game  ? "  he  asked.     "  I  have  seen 
all,"  said  Na/i'nes^ani.     "  Do  you  see  two  sacrificial  cigarettes  of 
the  deer  above  the  rainbow  over  the  eastern  door  ? "     "  I  see  them 
now,"  responded  the  Navaho,  "  but  I  did  not  notice  them  when  I 
entered."     The  old  man   then  showed  him,  over  the  door  in  the 
south,  two  cigarettes  of  the  antelope ;  over  the  door  in  the  west, 
two  cigarettes  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  ;  over  the  door  in  the 
north,  the  single  white  cigarette  of  //ast^eyal/i  234  (the  elk  had  no 
cigarette),  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  steps  by  which  they  had  en- 
tered, two  cigarettes  of  the  fawn.     "  Look  well  at  these  cigarettes," 
said  the  old  man,  "  and  remember  how  they  are  painted,  for  such 
we  now  sacrifice  in  our  ceremonies."     "Are  you  pleased  ?"     "Do 
you  admire  what  you  have  seen  ?  "     "  What  do  you  think  of  it  all  ? " 
Such  were  the  questions  the  old  man  asked,  and  the  Navaho  made 
answer :  "  I  thank  you.     I  am  glad  that  I  have  seen  your  farm  and 
your  pets.     Such  things  I  never  saw  before." 


j86  Navaho  Legends. 

529.  "Now,  my  daughter,"  said  Deer  Raiser,  "catch  a  deer  for 
my  son-in-law,   that  we  may  have  fresh   meat."     She  opened  the 
eastern  door,  entered,  and  caught  a  big  buck  by  the  foot  (just  as  we 
catch  sheep  in  these  days).    She  pulled  it  out.     The  Navaho  walked 
in  front ;  the  young  woman,  dragging  the  buck,  came  after  him,  and 
the  old  man  came  last  of  all,  closing  the  doors  and  putting  in  the 
stopple  as  he  came.     They  brought  the  buck   home,  tied  its  legs 
together  with  short  rainbows,  cut  its  throat  with  a  stone  arrow  point, 
and  skinned  it  as  we  now  skin  deer. 

530.  Now  Deer  Raiser  began  again  to  plot  the  death  of  his  son-in- 
law.     He  found  he  could  not  poison  him,  so  he  determined  to  try  an- 
other plan.     In  a  neighboring  canyon,  to  which  there  was  but  one 
entrance,  he  kept  four  fierce  pet  bears.     He  determined  to  invite  his 
son-in-law  out  to  hunt  with  him,  and  get  him  killed  by  these  bears. 
The  rest  of  that  day  the  Navaho  remained  at  home  with  his  wife, 
while  the  old  man  took  the  hoofs  of  the  slain  deer  and  made  with 
them  a  lot  of  tracks  leading  into  the  canyon  of  the  bears. 

531.  On   the   following   morning,   while  the  young   woman  was 
cooking  in  the  other  lodge,  Deer  Raiser  came  in  where  the  Navaho 
sat  and  said  :  "  My  son-in-law,  four  of  my  pet  deer  have  escaped 
from  the  farm.     I  have  tracked  them  to  a  canyon  near  by,  which 
has  only  one  entrance.     As  soon  as  you  have  eaten  I  want  you  to 
help  me  to  hunt  them.     You  will  stand  at  the  entrance  of  the  can- 
yon while  I  go  in  to  drive  the   deer  toward  you,  and   you  can  kill 
them  as  they  come  out.     No,"  said  the  old  man  after  pausing  for  a 
while  and  pretending  to  think,  "  you  must  go  into  the  canyon,  my 
son-in-law,  while  I  stay  at  the  entrance  and  kill  the  deer.     That  will 
be  better."    When  about  to  start  on  his  hunt,  the  Wind  People  whis- 
pered to  the  Navaho  :  "  Do  not  enter  the  canyon." 

532.  The  two  men  walked  along  the  steep  side  of  the  valley,  fol- 
lowing the  tracks  until  they  came  to  the  high  rugged  cliffs  that 
marked  the  entrance  to  the  canyon.     "  When  my  deer  escape,  here 
is  where  they  usually  come,"  said  Deer  Raiser.     A  little  stream  of 
water  ran  out  of  the  canyon,  and  here  the  old  man  had  raised  a  dam 
to  make  a  pool.     When  they  reached  the  pool  he  said  :  "  Here  I 
shall  stop  to  shoot  the  deer.     Go  you  in  and  drive  them  out  for 
me."     "  No,  I  fear  the  deer  will  pass  me,"  said  Na/fnes/7/ani.     Four 
times  these  words  were  said  by  both.     At  last  the  old  man,  seeing 
that  his  companion  was  obstinate,  said :  "  Stay  here,  then,  but  do 
not  let  the  deer  escape  you,  and  do  not  climb  the  hillsides  around 
for  fear   the  deer  should  see   you,"  and  he  went  himself  into  the 
canyon.     In  spite  of  all  the  warnings  he  had  received,  Na/i'nes^ani 
climbed  a  rocky  eminence  where  he  could  watch  and  be  out  of  dan- 
ger.    After  waiting  a  while  in  silence  he  heard  a  distant  cry  like 


Natilriesfaani.  187 

that  of  a  wolf,235  woo-oo-oo-oo,  and  became  aware  that  something 
was  moving  toward  him  through  the  brush.  He  soon  descried  four 
bears  walking  down  the  canyon  in  single  file,  about  thirty  paces 
apart,  alternately  a  female  and  a  male.  The  old  man  had  probably 
told  them  there  was  some  one  for  them  to  kill,  for  they  advanced 
with  hair  bristling,  snouts  up,  and  teeth  showing.  When  he  saw 
them  coming  he  said,  "  I  am  Nayenezgani.  I  am  //astreyal/i.  I  am 
Sa^nalkahi.  I  am  a  god  of  bears,"  and  he  mentioned  the  names 
of  other  potent  gods.  As  the  bears  were  passing  their  hidden 
enemy  he  drew  arrow  after  arrow  to  the  head  and  slew  them  all,  one 
by  one.  He  killed  them  as  they  walked  along  a  ledge  of  rock,  and 
their  bodies  tumbled  down  on  the  other  side  of  the  ledge,  where 
they  were  hidden  from  view.  Soon  the  voice  of  the  old  man  was 
heard  in  the  distance  crying:  "  Oh,  my  pets!  Oh,  Tjananai!  Oh, 
T^e'sko*^ !  (for  the  bears  had  names).236  Save  a  piece  for  me!  Save 
a  piece  for  me!"  And  a  little  later  he  came  in  sight,  running  and 
panting.  He  did  not  see  his  son-in-law  till  he  was  right  beside  him. 
He  showed  at  once  that  he  was  surprised  and  angry,  but  he  quickly 
tried  to  make  it  appear  that  he  was  angry  from  another  cause. 
"  I  should  have  been  here.  You  have  let  them  run  by,"  he  cried 
in  angry  tones.  "Oh,  no,"  said  the  Navaho,  "  I  have  not  let  them 
run  by.  I  have  killed  them.  Look  over  the  ledge  and  you  will  see 
them."  The  old  man  looked  as  he  was  told,  and  was  struck  dumb 
with  astonishment  and  sorrow.  He  sat  down  in  silence,  with  his 
head  hanging  between  his  knees,  and  gazed  at  the  bodies  of  his  dead 
pets.  He  did  not  even  thank  his  son-in-law.237 

533.  Why  did  Deer  Raiser  seek  the  life  of  his  son-in-law  ?     Now 
Na/i'nes//zani  knew,  and  now  you  shall  know.     The  old  man  was  a 
^me'yiani,  or  man-eater,  and  a  wizard.     He  wanted  the  flesh  of  the 
Navaho  to  eat,  and  he  wanted   parts  of    the  dead  body  to  use  in 
the  rites  of  witchcraft.     But  there  was  yet  another  reason  ;  he  was 
jealous  of  the  Navaho,  for  those  who  practise  witchcraft  practise 
also  incest. 

534.  "  Why  did  you  shoot  them  ?  "  said  the  old  man  at  last ;   "  the 
deer  went  out  before  them.    Why  did  you  not  shoot  the  deer?    Now 
you  may  skin   the  bears."     "  You   never   drove  deer  to  me,"  said 
the  Navaho.     "  These  are  what  you  drove  to  me.     When  a  compan- 
ion in  the  hunt  drives  anything  to  me  I  kill  it,  no  matter  what  it  is. 
You  have  talked  much  to  me  about  hunting  with  you.     Now  I  have 
killed  game  and  you  must  skin  it."     "  Help  me,  then,  to  skin  it," 
said  Deer  Raiser.     "  No.     I  never  skin  the  game  I  kill  myself.238 
You  must  do  the  skinning.     I  killed  for  you,"  said  the  Navaho.    "  If 
you  will  not  help  me,"  said  the  old  man,  "  go  back  to  the  house  and 
tell  my  daughter  to  come  and  assist  me  to  skin  the  bears.     Go  back 
by  the  way  we  came  when  we  trailed  the  deer." 


1 88  Navaho  Legends. 

535.  Na/i'nes/^ani  set  off  as  the  Deer  Raiser  had  directed  him. 
As  soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight  the  old  man  rushed  for  the  house  by 
a  short  cut.     Reaching  home,  he  hastily  dressed  himself  in  the  skin 
of  a  great  serpent,  went  to   the  trail  which   his   son-in-law  was  to 
take,  and  lay  in  ambush  behind  a  log  at  a  place  where  the  path  led 
through  a  narrow  defile.     As  the  Navaho  approached  the  log  the 
Wind  People  told  him  :  "  Your  father-in-law  awaits  you  behind  the 
log."     The  Navaho  peeped  over  the  log  before  he  got  too  near,  and 
saw  Deer  Raiser  in  his  snake-skin  suit,  swaying  uneasily  back  and 
forth,  poising  himself  as  if  preparing  to  spring.     When  he  saw  the 
young  man  looking  in  his  direction  he  crouched  low.     "What  are 
you  doing  there  ? "  called  the  Navaho  (in  a  way  which  let  Deer  Raiser 
know  he  was  recognized),239  and  he  drew  an  arrow  on  the  old  man. 
"  Stop  !  stop  !  "  cried  the  latter.     "  I  only  came  here  to  meet  you 
and  hurry  you  up."     "Why  do  you  not  come  from  behind,  if  that  is 
so  ?     Why  do  you  come  from  before  me  and  hide  beside  my  path  ?  " 
said  the  Navaho,  and  he  passed  on  his  way  and  went  to  his  wife's 
house. 

536.  When  Na/i'nes//^ani  reached  the  house  he  told  his  wife  that 
he  had  killed  four  animals  for  his  father-in-law,  but  he  did  not  tell 
her  what  kind  of  animals  they  were,  and  he  told  her  that  her  father 
sent  for  her  mother  to  help  skin  the  animals  and  cut  up  the  meat. 
The  daughter  delivered  the  message  to  her  mother,  and  the  latter 
went  out  to  the  canyon  to  help  her  husband.     When  Deer  Raiser 
saw  his  wife  coming  he  was  furious.     "  It  was  my  daughter  I  sent 
for,  not  you,"  he  roared.     "  What  sort  of  a  man  is  he  who  cannot 
carry  my  word  straight,  who  cannot  do  as  he  is  told  ?     I  bade  him 
tell  my  daughter,  not  you,  to  come  to  me."     Between  them  they 
skinned  and  dressed  the  bears  and  carried  them,  one  at  a  time,  to 
his  house.     He  sent  to  his  son-in-law  to  know  if  he  wanted  some 
meat,  and  the  Navaho  replied  that  he  did  not  eat  bear  meat.    When 
he  heard  this,  Deer  Raiser  was  again  furious,  and  said  :  "  What  man- 
ner of  a  man  is  this  who  won't  eat  meat  ?    (He  did  not  say  what  kind 
of  meat.)     When  we  offer  him  food  he  says  he  does  not  want  to  eat 
it.     He  never  does  what  he  is  told  to  do.     We  cook  food  for  him 
and  he  refuses  it.     What  can  we  do  to  please  him  ?     What  food  will 
satisfy  him  ?  " 

537.  The  next  morning  after  the  bears  were  killed,  the  young 
woman  went  out  as  usual,  and  the  old  man  entered  during  her  ab- 
sence.    He  said  to  Na/i'nes//zani :  "  I  wish  you  to  go  out  with  me 
to-day   and  help  me  to  fight  my  enemies.     There  are  enemies  of 
mine,  not  far  from  here,  whom  I  sometimes  meet  in  battle."     "  I 
will  go  with  you,"  said  the  Navaho.     "  I  have  long  been  hoping  that 
some  one  would  say  something  like  this  to  me." 


Natl'riesthani.  189 

538.  They  went  from  the  lodge  toward  a  mountain   which  was 
edged  on  two  sides  by  steep  cliffs,  which  no  man  could  climb.     On 
the  top  of  the  mountain  the  old  man  said  there  was  a  round  hole 
or  valley  in  which  his  enemies  dwelled.     He  stationed  his  son-in-law 
on  one  side  of  this  round  valley  where  no  cliffs  were,  and  he  went 
to  the  opposite  side  to  drive  the  enemy,  as  he  said.     He  promised  to 
join  the  Navaho  when  the  enemy  started.     Deer  Raiser  went  around 
the  mountain  and  cried  four  times  in  imitation  of  a  wolf.     Then, 
instead  of  coming  to  his  comrade's  help,  he  ran  around  the  base  of 
the   hill   and   got    behind  his  son-in-law.     Soon  after  the  old  man 
made  his  cry,  the  Navaho  saw  twelve  great  ferocious  bears  coming 
toward  him  over  the  crest  of  the  hill.     They  were  of  the  kind  called 
.yajnalkahi,  or  tracking  bears,  such  as  scent  and  track  a  man,  and 
follow  till  they  kill  him.     They  were  of  all  the  sacred  colors,  — 
white,   blue,  yellow,   black,   and  spotted.     They  came  toward   the 
Navaho,  but  he  was  well  armed  and  prepared  to  meet  them.     He 
fought  with  them  the  hardest  fight  he  ever  fought ;  but  at  length  he 
killed  them  all,  and  suffered  no  harm  himself.240 

539.  In  the  mean  time  the  old  man  ran  off  in  the  direction  of  his 
home,  sure  that  his  son-in-law  was  killed.     He  said  :  "  I  think  we 
shall  hear  no  more  of  Na/fnes/^ani.     I  think  we  shall  hear  no  more 
of  A^o^/ise/i.     Hereafter  it  will  be  Na/i'nes//zanini  (the  dead  Na/i'- 
nes/^ani).     Hereafter  it  will  be  A/zo^ise/ini  (the  dead  A/fco^/ise/i).241 
He  can't  come  back  out  of  the  tracking  bears'  mouths."     After  kill- 
ing the  bears,  the  Navaho  found  the  old  man's  trail  and  followed  it. 
Presently  he  came  to  Deer  Raiser,  who  was  sitting  on  a  knoll.     The 
old  man  could  not  conceal  his  astonishment  at  seeing  the  Navaho 
still  alive.      "  When  we  went  out  to  this  battle,"  said  the  young 
man,  "  we  promised  not  to  desert  one  another.     Why  did  you  run 
away  from  me  ?  "     The  Deer  Raiser  answered  :  "  I  am  sorry  I  could 
not  find  you.     I  did  not  see  where  you  were,  so  I  came  on  this 
way.     What  did  you  do  where  I  left  you  ?     Did  you  kill  any  of  the 
bears?"     "Yes,  I  killed  all  of  them,"  said  Nafl'nes^ani.     "I  am 
glad  you  killed  all  and  came  away  with  your  own  life,  my  dear  son- 
in-law,"  said  the  old  cheat. 

540.  They  started  to  walk  home  together,  but  night  fell  when 
they  reached  a  rocky  ridge  on  the  way ;  here  they  picked  out   a 
nice  spot  of  ground  to  sleep  on,  built  a  shelter  of  brushwood,  and 
made  a  fire.     Before  they  went  to  rest  the  old  man  said  :  "  This 
is  a  bad  place  to  camp.     It  is  called  KedidiVyena'a'  (Ridge  of  the 
Burnt  Moccasins)."    As  they  lay  down  to  sleep,  one  on  either  side  of 
the  fire,  each  took  off  his  moccasins  and  put  them  under  his  head. 
The  old  man  said :  "  Take  good  care  of  your  moccasins,  my  son-in- 
law.     Place  them  securely."     "  Why  does  he  say  these  things  ? " 


190  Navaho  Legends. 

asked  the  Navaho  to  himself.  As  he  lay  awake,  thinking  of  the 
warning  of  the  old  man,  he  heard  the  latter  snoring.  He  rose  softly, 
took  away  the  old  man's  moccasins,  put  his  own  in  their  place,  and 
lay  down  to  sleep  with  Deer  Raiser's  moccasins  under  his  head. 
Later  in  the  night  the  old  man  got  up,  pulled  the  moccasins  from 
under  the  young  man's  head,  and  buried  them  in  the  hot  embers. 
He  was  anxious  to  get  home  next  morning  before  his  son-in-law. 

541.  At  dawn  the  old  man  aroused  his  companion  with  "  It  is  time 
we  were  on   our  road."     The  young  man  woke,  rubbed  his  eyes, 
yawned,  and  pretended  to  look  for  his  moccasins.     After  searching 
a  while  he  asked  :  "  Where  are  my  moccasins  ?    Have  I  lost  them  ?  " 
"Huh!"  said  Deer  Raiser.     "You  did  not  listen  to  what  I  told 
you  last  night.     I  said  that  this  was  the  Ridge  of  the  Burned  Moc- 
casins."   In  the  mean  time,  on  the  other  side  of  the  fire,  the  old  man 
was  putting  on  his  companion's  moccasins,  not  noticing  that  they 
were  not  his  own.      "  Look.     You  are  putting  on  my  moccasins 
instead  of  your  own.     Give  me  my  moccasins,"  said  the  Navaho, 
reaching  across  the  fire.     He  took  them  out  of  his  companion's 
hands,  sat  down  and  put  them  on.     "  Now  we  must  hurry  back,"  he 
said.     "  I  can't  see  what  made  you  burn  your  moccasins,  but  I  can- 
not wait  for  you.     I  am  going  now."  242 

542.  Before  the  young  man  left,  his  father-in-law  gave  him  a  mes- 
sage.    "  I  cannot  travel  as  fast  as  you  on  my  bare  feet.     When  you 
go  home,  tell  my  daughter  to  come  out  with  a  pair  of  moccasins  and 
some  food,  and  meet  me  on  the  trail."    When  the  Navaho  got  home 
he  said  to  his  wife  :  "  I  camped  with  your  father  last  night,  and  he 
burned  his  moccasins.     He  is  limping  home  barefoot.     He  bids  his 
wife  to  come  out  and  meet  him  with  moccasins  and  food."     The 
daughter  delivered  the  message  to  her  mother,  and  the  latter  went 
out  to  meet  her  husband  with  moccasins,  food,  and  a  brand  of  burn- 
ing cedar-bark.     When  the  old  man  met  her  he  was  angry.     "  Why 
have  you  come  ?     Why  has   not  my  daughter  come  ? "   he  asked. 
"  Your  son-in-law  said  that  I  should  come,"  the  old  woman  replied. 
"  Oh,  what  a  fool  my  son-in-law  is,"  cried  Deer  Raiser.     "  He  never 
can  remember  what  he  is  told  to  say."     He  ate  his  food,  put  on 
his  moccasins,  and  hurried  home  with  his  wife. 

543-  When  Deer  Raiser  visited  his  son-in-law  on  the  following 
morning  he  said  :  "  I  warn  you  never  to  stray  alone  to  the  east  of  the 
lodge  in  which  you  dwell.  There  is  a  dangerous  place  there."  The 
old  man  went  home,  and  the  Navaho  pondered  all  day  over  what  his 
father-in-law  had  said,  and  during  the  night  he  made  up  his  mind  to 
do  just  what  the  old  man  had  told  him  not  to  do. 

544.  When  Na/i'nes^/zani  had  eaten  in  the  morning  he  dressed 
himself  for  a  journey,  left  the  lodge,  and  travelled  straight  to  the  east. 


'      N 

UNIVERSITY  j 

ro^  Nati'nes&am.  191 

He  came  to  a  steep  white  ridge  ; 243  when  he  had  climbed  this  about 
half  way,  he  observed  approaching  him  a  man  of  low  stature.  His 
coat,  which  fitted  him  skin-tight,  was  white  on  the  chest  and  insides  of 
the  arms,  while  it  was  brown  elsewhere,  like  the  skin  of  a  deer.  He 
wore  on  his  head  a  deer-mask,  with  horns,  such  as  deer-hunters  use. 
He  carried  a  turquoise  wand,  a  black  bow  with  sinew  on  the  back, 
and  two  arrows  with  featherings  of  eagle-tail.  He  was  one  of  the 
Tsidas/6k/me'.244  When  the  men  met,  the  stranger,  who  had  a  pale 
face,245  looked  out  from  under  his  mask  and  said :  "  Whence  come 
you,  my  grandchild  ? "  "I  come,  my  grandfather,  from  a  place  near 
here.  I  come  from  the  house  of  Piml/ani,"  the  Navaho  answered. 
"  My  grandchild,  I  have  heard  of  you.  Do  you  know  how  my  cigar- 
ette is  made  ? "  said  the  man  with  the  deer-mask.  "  No,  my  grand- 
father, I  never  heard  of  your  cigarette,"  was  the  reply.  "There  is 
a  cigarette 12  for  me,  my  grandson,"  said  the  stranger.  "  It  is  painted 
white,  with  a  black  spot  on  it,  and  is  so  long  (second  joint  of  mid- 
dle finger).  It  should  be  laid  in  the  fork  of  a  pinon-tree.  I  am 
now  walking  out,  and  am  going  in  the  direction  whence  you  came. 
There  are  people  living  behind  the  ridge  you  are  climbing.  You 
should  visit  them,  and  hear  what  they  will  have  to  tell  you." 

545.  The  Navaho  climbed  the  ridge  ;  and  as  he  began  to  descend 
it  on  the  other  side,  he  observed  below  him  two  conical  tents,  such 
as  the  Indians  of  the  plains  use.     The  tents  were  white  below  and 
yellow  above,  representing  the  dawn  and  the  evening  twilight.     As 
he  approached  the  tents  he  observed  that  two  games  of  nanm?  were 
being  played,  —  one   beside   each   tent,  —  and  a  number  of   people 
were  gathered,  watching  the  games.     As  he  advanced  toward  the 
crowd  a  man  came  forward  to  meet  him,  saying  :  "  Go  to  the  lodge  in 
the  south.     There  are  many  people  there."     He  went  to  the  lodge 
in   the   south,  as  he  was   bidden.     A  woman  of  bright   complexion, 
fairer  than  the  Navahoes  usually  are,  the  wife  of  the  owner  of  the 
lodge,  came  out  and  invited  him  to  enter. 

546.  When  Natf'nes/^ani  entered  the  lodge  he  found  its  owner 
seated  in  the  middle.     The  latter  was  a  man  past  middle  age,  but 
not  very  old.     He  was  dressed  in  a  beautiful  suit  of  buckskin  em- 
broidered with  porcupine  quills.     He  pointed  to  a  place  by  his  side, 
and  said  to  the  Navaho  :  "  Sit  here,  my  grandchild."     When  the 
Navaho  was  seated  his  host  said :  "  Whence  do  you  come  ?     The 
people  who  live  up  on  the  earth   are  never  seen  here."     "I  come 
from  the  house  of  Pi/nl/ani,"  the  young  man  answered.     "  Oh  !  Do 
you  ?  "  questioned  the  host.     "  And  do  you  know  that  Deer  Raiser 
is  a  great  villain  ;  that  he  kills  his  guests  ;  that  he  talks  softly,  and 
pretends  friendship,  and  lures  people  to  stay  with  him  until  he  can 
quietly  kill  them  ?     Has  he  never  spoken  thus  softly  to  you  ?     How 


192  Navaho  Legends. 

long  have  you  been  staying  with  him  ?  "  "  I  have  dwelt  with  him 
for  many  days,"  Na/fnes/^ani  answered.  "Ah!"  said  his  host. 
"  Many  of  our  young  men  have  gone  over  there  to  woo  his  daughter  ; 
but  they  have  never  returned.  Some  are  killed  on  the  first  day ; 
others  on  the  second  day ;.  others  on  the  third  day;  others  on  the 
fourth ;  but  no  one  ever  lives  beyond  the  fourth  day.  No  one  has 
ever  lived  there  as  long  as  you  have."  "  He  seems  to  be  such  a 
man  as  you  describe  him,"  said  Natf'nes//2ani.  "  He  has  been  trying 
to  kill  me  ever  since  I  have  been  with  him."  "  You  must  be  a  wise 
man  to  have  escaped  him  so  long  ;  your  prayer  must  be  potent ;  your 
charm  must  be  strong,"  m  declared  the  host.  "  No,  truly,  I  know 
no  good  prayer ;  I  possess  no  charm,"  the  Navaho  replied,  and  then 
he  went  on  to  tell  how  he  came  into  that  country,  and  all  that  hap- 
pened to  him,  till  he  came  to  the  house  of  Deer  Raiser.  "  He  is 
rich,  but  he  is  no  good.  That  daughter  of  his  is  also  his  wife,  and 
that  is  why  he  wants  to  poison  her  suitors,"  said  the  owner  of  the 
lodge,  and  then  he  described  four  ways  in  which  Pi;/il/ani  killed  his 
guests.  The  Navaho  remained  silent.  He  knew  all  the  ways  of  the 
Deer  Raiser,  but  he  pretended  not  to  know.  Then  the  host  went 
on  :  "  The  house  of  Deer  Raiser  is  a  place  of  danger.  You  will 
surely  be  killed  if  you  stay  there.  I  am  sorry  you  are  in  such  bad 
company,  for  you  seem  to  be  a  good  man."  "  You  speak  of  Deer 
Raiser  as  a  great  man ;  but  he  cannot  be  so  great  as  you  think  he  is. 
Four  times  have  I  killed  him  with,  smoke,  and  four  times  have  I 
brought  him  to  life  again,"  said  the  Navaho,  and  then  he  related  all 
his  adventures  since  he  had  been  with  Piwil/ani. 

547.  The  host  thanked  him  for  having  slain  the  bears,  and  went 
out  to  call  the  players  and  all  the  crowd  that  stood  around  them  to 
come  to  his  tent.     They  came,  for  he  was  their  chief,  and  soon  the 
tent  was  crowded.     Then  he  spoke  to  the  assembly,  and  told  them 
the  story  of   the  Navaho.     There  was    great  rejoicing  when  they 
heard  it.     They  thanked  Na/fnes/7/ani  for  what  he  had  done.     One 
said  that  Deer  Raiser  had  killed  his  brother ;  another  said  he  had 
killed  his  son ;  another  said  the  bears  had  slain  his  nephew,  and 
thus  they  spoke  of  their  many  woes. 

548.  The  people  were  of  five  kinds,  or  gentes  :  the  Puma  People, 
the  Blue  Fox  People,  the  Yellow  Fox  People,  the  Wolf  People,  and 
the  Lynx  People,  and  the  host  was  chief  of  all. 

549.  The  chief  ordered  one  of  his  daughters  to  prepare  food  for 
the  visitor.     She  brought  in  deer  pemmican.     The  Navaho  ate,  and 
when  he  was  done  he  said  :   "  I  am  now  ready  to  go,  my  grandfa- 
ther."    "Wait  a  while,"  said  the  chief.     "  I  have  some  medicine  to 
give  you.     It  is  an  antidote  for  Deer  Raiser's  poison."    He  gave  his 
visitor  two  kinds  of  medicine ;  one  was  an  object  the  size  of  the 


Na  ti'riestham.  193 

last  two  joints  of  the  little  finger,  made  of  the  gall  of  birds  of  prey, 
—  all  birds  that  catch  with  their  claws  ;  the  other  was  a  small  quan- 
tity (as  much  as  one  might  grasp  with  the  tips  of  all  the  fingers  of 
one  hand)  of  a  substance  composed  of  material  vomited  by  each  of 
the  five  animals  that  were  the  totems  of  this  people.  "  Now  have 
no  fear,"  said  the  chief.  "The  bears  are  slain,  and  you  have  here 
medicines  that  will  kill  the  wizard's  poison.  They  are  potent  against 
witchcraft."  ™ 

550.  When  the  Navaho  went  back  to  the  house  where  his  wife 
was,  she  said  :  "  My  father  has  been  here  inquiring  for  you.     When 
I  told  him  you  had  gone  to  the  east  he  was  very  angry,  and  said  that 
he  told  you  not  to  go  there."     Soon  the  old  man   entered  and  said 
fiercely :  "  Why  have  you  gone  to  the  east  ?     I  told  you  not  to  go 
there.     I  told  you  it  was  a  bad  place."     The  young  man  made  no 
reply,  but  acted  as  if  he  had  seen  and  heard  nothing  while  he  was 
gone,  and  in  a  little  while  Deer  Raiser  calmed  down  and  acted  as  if 
he  wished  to  be  at  peace  again  with  his  son-in-law ;  but  before  he 
left  he  warned  him  not  to  go  to  the  south.     Natf'nes^ani  pondered 
on  the  words  of  his  father-in-law  that  night,  and  made  up  his  mind 
to  again  disobey  him  when  morning  came. 

551.  Next  day,  when  he  had  eaten,  he  dressed  himself  for  a  jour- 
ney and  walked  toward  the  south.     He  came,  in  time,  to  a  blue 
ridge,  and  when  he  was  ascending  it  he  met  a  little  man,  much  like 
the  one  he  had  met  the  day  before,  but  he  had  a  bluish  face.     In- 
stead of  being  dressed  to  look  like  a  deer,  he  was  dressed  to  look 
like  an  antelope ;  he  wore  an  antelope  hunting-mask  with  horns,  he 
carried  a  wand  of  haliotis,  and  a  bow  made  of  a  wood  called  tse/kani, 
with  no  sinew  on  the  back,  and  he  had  arrows  trimmed  with  the  tail 
feathers  of  the  red-tailed  buzzard.248    Like  the  little  man  of  the  east, 
he  was  also  one  of  the  Tsidas/6i  People.     He  told  the  Navaho  how 
to  make  the  cigarette  that  belonged  to  him,  to  make  it  the  length  of 
the  middle  joint  of  the  little  finger,  to  paint  it  blue,  spot  it  with  yel- 
low, and  deposit  it  in  the  fork  of  a  cedar-tree.     The  little  man  told 
the  Navaho  to  go  on  over  the  ridge  till  he  came  to  two  lodges  and 
to  listen  there  to  what  the  people  would  tell  him.     He  went  and 
found  two  lodges,  and  people  playing  naoms',  and  had  all  things 
happen  to  him  nearly  the  same  as  happened  to  him  in  the  east. 
When  he  returned  home  he  had  again  an  angry  talk  from  his  father- 
in-law,  and  was  warned  not  to  go  to  the  west ;  but  again  he  deter- 
mined to  pay  no  heed  to  the  warning. 

552.  When  he  went  to  the  west,  next  day,  he  found  a  yellow  ridge 
to  cross.     The  little  man  whom  he  met  had  a  yellowish  face  ;  he 
was  armed  and  dressed  the  same  as  the  little  man  of  the  east,  except 
that  he  had  no  horns  on  his  deer-mask,  for  he  represented  a  doe. 


194  Navaho  Legends. 

He  described  to  the  Navaho  how  to  make  a  cigarette  sacred  to  him- 
self, which  was  to  be  painted  yellow,  spotted  with  blue,  and  de- 
posited in  a  pinon-tree,  like  the  cigarette  of  the  east.  Other  events 
happened  much  as  on  the  two  previous  days. 

553.  On  the  fourth  of  these  forbidden  journeys  the  Navaho  went 
to  the  north.     The  ridge  which  he  had  to  cross  was  black.     The 
little  man  whom  he  met  was  armed  and  dressed  like  the  man  in  the 
south,  but  he  had  no  horns  on  his  mask.     His  face  was  very  dark. 
The  cigarette  whi.ch  he  described  was   to   be   painted  black  and 
spotted  with  white ;  it  was  to  be  the  same  length  as  the  cigarette  of 
the  south,  and  disposed  of  in  the  same  way. 

554.  When  he  got  home  from  his  fourth  journey,  his  father-in-law 
came  into  the  lodge  and  reviled  him  once  more  with  angry  words ; 
but  this  time  the  Navaho  did  not  remain  silent.     He  told  the  old 
man  where  he  had  been,  what  people  he  had  met,  what  stories  he 
had  heard,  and  all  that  he  knew  of  him.     He  told  him,  too,  that  he 
had  learned  of  cigarettes,  and  medicines,  and  charms,  and  rites  to 
protect  him  against  a  wizard's  power.     "  You  have  killed  others," 
said  Natf'nes//zani,  "  you  have  tried  to  kill  me.     I  knew  it  all  the 
time,  but  said  nothing.    Now  I  know  all  of  your  wickedness."    "  All 
that  you  say  is  true,"  said  the  old  man ;  "  but  I  shall  seek  your  life 
no  more,  and  I  shall  give  up  all  my  evil  ways.     While  you  were 
abroad  on  your  journeys  you  learned  of  powerful  sacrifices,   and 
rites,  and  medicines.     All  that  I  ask  is  that  you  will  treat  me  with 
these."     His  son-in-law  did  as  he  was  desired,  and  in  doing  so  per- 
formed the  first  atsosi  7za/al.249 

555.  After  treating  his  father-in-law,  Na/i'nes///ani  returned  to  his 
people,  taught  them  all  he  had  learned  while  he  was  gone,  and  thus 
established  the  rite  of  atsosi  ^a^a/  among  the  Navahoes.     Then  he 
went  back  to  the  whirling  lake  of  To'nihilm,  and  he  dwells  there 
still. 


THE   GREAT   SHELL   OF   KINTYEL. 


556.  Kintyel,72  Broad  House,  and  Ki'ndotlls,  Blue  House,208  are 
two  pueblo  houses  in  the  Chaco  Canyon.  They  are  ruins  now  ;  but 
in  the  days  when  Ki/mfki  lived  on  earth  many  people  dwelt  there. 
Not  far  from  the  ruins  is  a  high  cliff  called  Tse'deza',  or  Standing 
Rock.  Near  these  places  the  rite  of  yoi  /^a^a/,250  or  the  bead  chant, 


Fig.  36.    Ruin  in  the  Chaco  Canyon,  probably  Kmtyel  (after  Bickford). 

was  first  practised  by  the  Navahoes,  and  this  is  the  tale  of  how  it 
first  became  known  to  man  :  — 

557.  Two  young  men,  one  from  Kmtyel  and  one  from  Ki'ndb/lfe, 
went  out  one  day  to  hunt  deer.  About  sunset,  as  they  were  return- 
ing to  KiWo/lfe,  weary  and  unsuccessful,  they  observed  a  war- 
eagle  soaring  overhead,  and  they  stopped  to  watch  his  flight.  He 


Navaho  Legends. 

moved  slowly  away,  growing  smaller  and  smaller  to  their  gaze  until 
at  length  he  dwindled  to  a  black  speck,  almost  invisible  ;  and  while 
they  strained  their  sight  to  get  a  last  look  he  seemed  to  them  to 
descend  on  the  top  of  Standing  Rock.  In  order  to  mark  the  spot 
where  they  last  saw  him  they  cut  a  forked  stick,  stuck  it  in  the 
ground  fork  upward,  and  arranged  it  so  that  when  they  should  look 
over  it  again,  crouching  in  a  certain  position,  their  sight  would  be 
guided  to  the  spot.  They  left  the  stick  standing  and  went  home  to 


558.  In  those  days  eagles  were  very  scarce  in  the  land  ;  it  was  a 
wonder  to  see  one  ;  so  when  the  young  men  got  home  and  told  the 
story  of  their  day's  adventures,  it  became  the  subject  of  much  con- 
versation and  counsel,  and  at  length  the  people  determined  to  send 
four  men,  in  the  morning,  to  take  sight  over  the  forked  stick,  in 
order  to  find  out  where  the  eagle  lived. 

559.  Next  morning  early  the  four  men  designated  went  to  the 
forked  stick  and  sighted  over  it,  and  all  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  eagle  lived  on  the  point  of  Tse'deza*.     They  went  at  once  to  the 
rock,  climbed  to  the  summit,  and  saw  the  eagle  and  its  young  in  a 
cleft  on  the  face  of  the  precipice  below  them.     They  remained  on 
the  summit  all  day  and  watched  the  nest. 

560.  At  night  they  went   home  and  told   what  they  had  seen. 
They  had  observed  two  young  eagles  of  different  ages  in  the  nest. 
Of  the  four  men  who  went  on  the  search,  two  were  from  Kintyel 
and  two  were  from  Ki'n^/o/li^,  therefore  people  from  the  two  pueblos 
met  in  counsel  in  an  estufa,  and  there  it  was  decided  that  Kf  ndotliz 
should  have  the  elder  of  the  two  eaglets  and  that  Kintyel  should 
have  the  younger. 

561.  The  only  way  to  reach  the  nest  was  to  lower  a  man  to  it 
with  a  rope  ;  yet  directly  above  the  nest  was  an  overhanging  ledge 
which  the  man,  descending,  would  be  obliged  to  pass.     It  was  a 
dangerous  undertaking,  and  no  one  could  be  found  to  volunteer  for 
it.     Living  near  the  pueblos  was  a  miserable  Navaho  beggar  who 
subsisted  on  such  food  as  he  could  pick  up.     When  the  sweepings 
of  the  rooms  and  the  ashes  from  the  fireplaces  were  thrown  out  on 
the  kitchen  heap,  he  searched  eagerly  through  them  and  was  happy 
if  he  could  find  a  few  grains  of  corn  or  a  piece  of  paper  bread.     He 
was  called  Nahoditahe,  or  He  Who  Picks  Up  (like  a  bird).     They 
concluded  to  induce  this  man  to  make  the  dangerous  descent. 

562.  They  returned  to  the  pueblo  and  sent  for  the  poor  Navaho 
to  come  to  the  estufa.     When  he  came  they  bade  him  be  seated, 
placed  before  him  a  large  basket  of  paper  bread,  bowls  of  boiled 
corn  and  meat,  with  all  sorts  of  their  best  food,  and  told  him  to  eat 
his  fill.     He  ate  as  he  had  never  eaten  before,  and  after  a  long  time 


The  Great  Shell  of  Kintyel.  197 

he  told  his  hosts  that  he  was  satisfied.  "  You  shall  eat,"  said  they, 
"  of  such  abundance  all  your  life,  and  never  more  have  to  scrape  for 
grains  of  corn  among  the  dirt,  if  you  will  do  as  we  desire."  Then 
they  told  him  of  their  plan  for  catching  the  young  eagles,  and  asked 
him  if  he  were  willing  to  be  put  in  a  basket  and  lowered  to  the  nest 
with  a  rope.  He  pondered  and  was  silent.  They  asked  him  again 
and  again  until  they  had  asked  him  four  times,  while  he  still  sat  in 
meditation.  At  last  he  answered  :  "  I  lead  but  a  poor  life  at  best. 
Existence  is  not  sweet  to  a  man  who  always  hungers.  It  would  be 
pleasant  to  eat  such  food  for  the  rest  of  my  days,  and  some  time  or 
other  I  must  die.  I  shall  do  as  you  wish." 

563.  On  the  following  morning  they  gave  him  another  good  meal; 
they  made  a  great,  strong  carrying-basket  with  four  corners  at  the 
top  ;  they  tied  a  strong  string  to  each  corner,  and,  collecting  a  large 
party,  they  set  out  for  the  rock  of  Tse'deza'. 

564.  When  the  party  arrived  at  the  top  of  the  rock  they  tied  a 
long,  stout  rope  to  the  four  strings  on  the  basket.     They  instructed 
the  Navaho  to  take  the  eaglets  out  of  the  nest  and  drop  them  to  the 
bottom  of  the  cliff.     The  Navaho  then  entered  the  basket  and  was 
lowered  over  the  edge  of  the  precipice.      They  let  the  rope  out 
slowly  till  they  thought  they  had  lowered  him  far  enough  and  then 
they  stopped ;  but  as  he  had  not  yet  reached  the  nest  he  called  out 
to  them  to  lower  him  farther.     They  did  so,  and  as  soon  as  he  was 
on  a  level  with  the  nest  he  called  to  the  people  above  to  stop. 

565.  He  was  just  about  to  grasp   the  eaglets  and  throw  them 
down  when  Wind  whispered  to  him  :  "  These  people  of  the  Pueblos 
are  not  your  friends.     They  desire  not  to  feed  you  with  their  good 
food  as  long  as  you  live.     If  you  throw  these  young  eagles  down,  as 
they  bid  you,  they  will  never  pull  you  up  again.    Get  into  the  eagles' 
nest  and  stay  there."    When  he  heard  this,  he  called  to  those  above: 
"  Swing  the  basket  so  that  it  may  come  nearer  to  the  cliff.     I  can- 
not reach  the  nest  unless  you  do."     So  they  caused  the  basket  to 
swing  back  and  forth.    When  it  touched  the  cliff  he  held  fast  to  the 
rock  and  scrambled  into  the  nest,  leaving  the  empty  basket  swing- 
ing in  the  air. 

566.  The  Pueblos   saw  the  empty  basket  swinging  and  waited, 
expecting  to  see  the  Navaho  get  back  into  it  again.     But  when  they 
had  waited  a  good  while  and  found  he  did  not  return  they  began  to 
call  to  him  as  if  he  were  a  dear  relation  of  theirs.     "  My  son,"  said 
the  old  men,  "  throw  down  those  little  eagles."    "  My  elder  brother! 
My  younger  brother  !  "  the  young  men  shouted,  "  throw  down  those 
little  eagles."     They  kept  up  their  clamor  until  nearly  sunset ;  but 
they  never  moved  the  will  of  the  Navaho.     He  sat  in  the  cleft  and 
never  answered  them,  and  when  the  sun  set  they  ceased  calling  and 
went  home. 


Navaho  Legends. 

567.  In  the  cleft  or  cave,  around  the  nest,  four  dead  animals  lay ; 
to  the  east  there  was  a  fawn ;  to  the  south  a  hare  ;  to  the  west  the 
young  of  a  Rocky  Mountain  sheep,  and  to  the  north  a  prairie-dog. 
From  time  to  time,  when  the  eaglets  felt  hungry,  they  would  leave 
the  nest  and  eat  of  the  meat  ;  but  the  Navaho  did  not  touch  it. 

568.  Early  next  day  the  Pueblo  people  returned  and  gathered  in  a 
great  crowd  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff.     They  stayed  there  all  day  re- 
peating their  entreaties  and  promises,  calling  the  Navaho  by  endear- 
ing terms,  and  displaying  all  kinds  of  tempting  food  to  his  gaze  ; 
but  he  heeded  them  not  and  spoke  not. 

569.  They  came  early  again  on  the  third  day,  but  they  came  in 
anger.     They  no   longer  called  him   by  friendly  names  ;    they  no 
longer  made  fair  promises    to    him ;    but,  instead,   they  shot   fire- 
arrows  at  the  eyry  in  hopes  they  would  burn  the  Navaho  out  or  set 
fire  to  the  nest  and  compel  him  to  throw  it  and  the  eaglets  down. 
But  he  remained  watchful  and   active,  and  whenever  a  fire-arrow 
entered  the  cave  he  seized  it  quickly  and  threw  it  out.     Then  they 
abused  him  and  reviled  him,  and  called  him  bad  names  until  sunset, 
when  again  they  went  home. 

570.  They  came  again  on  the  fourth  day  and  acted  as  they  had 
done  on  the  previous  day  ;  but  they  did  not  succeed  in  making  the 
Navaho  throw  down  the  little  eagles.    He  spoke  to  the  birds,  saying: 
"  Can  you  not  help  me  ?  "    They  rose  in  the  nest,  shook  their  wings, 
and  threw  out  many  little  feathers,  which  fell  on  the  people  below. 
The  Navaho  thought  the  birds  must  be  scattering  disease  on  his 
enemies.     When   the   latter   left   at   sunset  they  said:    "Now  we 
shall  leave  you  where  you  are,  to  die  of  hunger  and  thirst."     He 
was  then  altogether  three  nights  and  nearly  four  days  in  the  cave. 
For  two  days  the  Pueblos  had  coaxed  and  flattered  him  ;  for  two 
days  they  had  cursed  and  reviled  him,  and  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
day  they  went  home  and  left  him  in  the  cave  to  die. 

571.  When  his  tormentors  were  gone  he  sat  in  the  cave  hungry 
and  thirsty,  weak  and  despairing,  till  the   night   fell.     Soon   after 
dark  he  heard  a  great  rushing  sound  which  approached  from  one 
side  of  the  entrance  to  the  cave,  roared  a  moment  in  front,  and  then 
grew  faint  in  the  distance  at  the  other  side.     Thus  four  times  the 
sound  came  and  went,  growing  louder  each  time  it  passed,  and  at 
length  the  male   Eagle   lit   on    the  eyry.     Soon  the  sounds  were 
repeated,  and  the  female  bird,  the  mother  of  the  eaglets,  alighted. 
Turning  at  once  toward  the  Navaho,  she  said :  "  Greeting,  my  child ! 
Thanks,    my    child !     You    have    not   thrown    down   your   younger 
brother,  Z>oniki."  285     The   male  Eagle  repeated  the    same  words. 
They  addressed  the  Navaho  by  the  name  of  Z?oniki,  but  afterwards 
they  named  him  Kiwniki,  after  the  chief  of  all  the  Eagles  in  the  sky. 
He  only  replied  to  the  Eagles  :  "  I  am  hungry.     I  am  thirsty." 


The  Great  Shell  of  KmtyeL  1 99 

572.  The  male  Eagle  opened  his  sash  and  took  out  a  small  white 
cotton  cloth  which  contained  a  little  corn  meal,  and  he  took  out  a 
small  bowl  of  white   shell  no  bigger  than  the  palm  of  the  hand. 
When  the  Indian  saw  this  he  said :  "  Give  me  water  first,  for  I  am 
famishing  with  thirst."     "No,"  replied  the  Eagle;   "eat  first  and 
then  you  shall  have  something  to   drink."     The  Eagle  then  drew 
forth  from  among  his  tail  feathers  a  small  plant  called  el/md^akaj,262 
which  has  many  joints  and  grows  near  streams.     The  joints  were  all 
filled  with  water.     The  Eagle  mixed  a  little  of  the  water  with  some 
of  the  meal  in  the  shell  and  handed  -the  mixture  to  the  Navaho. 
The  latter  ate  and  ate,  until  he  was   satisfied,   but  he  could  not 
diminish  in  the  least  the  contents  of  the  shell  vessel.     When  he 
was  done  eating  there  was  as  much  in  the  cup  as  there  was  when  he 
began.     He  handed  it  back  to  the  Eagle,  the  latter  emptied  it  with 
one  sweep  of  his  finger,  and  it  remained  empty.    Then  the  Eagle  put 
the  jointed  plant  to  the  Navaho's  lips  as  if  it  were  a  wicker  bottle, 
and  the  Indian  drank  his  fill. 

573.  On  the  previous  nights,  while  lying  in  the  cave,  the  Navaho 
had  slept  between  the  eaglets  in  the  nest  to  keep  himself  warm  and 
shelter  himself  from  the  wind,  and  this  plan  had  been  of  some  help 
to  him ;  but  on  this  night  the  great  Eagles  slept  one  on  each  side  of 
him,  and  he  felt  as  warm  as  if  he  had  slept  among  robes  of  fur. 
Before  the  Eagles  lay  down  to  sleep  each  took  off  his  robe  of  plumes, 
which  formed  a  single  garment,  opening  in  front,  and  revealed  a 
form  like  that  of  a  human  being. 

574.  The  Navaho  slept  well  that  night  and  did  not  waken  till  he 
heard  a  voice  calling  from  the  top  of  the  cliff:  "Where  are  you? 
The  day  has  dawned.     It  is  growing  late.     Why  are  you  not  abroad 
already  ? "     At  the  sound  of  this  voice  the  Eagles  woke  too  and  put 
on  their  robes  of  plumage.     Presently  a  great  number  of  birds  were 
seen  flying  before  the  opening  of  the  cave  and  others  were  heard 
calling  to  one  another  on  the  rock    overhead.     There  were  many 
kinds  of  Eagles  and  Hawks  in  the  throng.     Some  of  all  the  large 
birds  of  prey  were  there.     Those  on  top  of  the  rock  sang  :  — 

Ki#nakiye,  there  he  sits. 
When  they  fly  up, 
We  shall  see  him. 
He  will  flap  his  wings.286 

575.  One  of  the  Eagles  brought  a  dress  of  eagle  plumes  and  was 
about  to  put  it  on  the  Navaho  when  the  others  interfered,  and  they 
had  a  long  argument  as  to  whether  they  should  dress  him  in  the 
garment  of  the  Eagles  or  not ;  but  at  length   they  all  flew  away 
without   giving   him   the   dress.      When   they  returned   they   had 


2OO  Navaho  Legends.  <   < 

thought  of  another  plan  for  taking  him  out  of  the  cave.  Laying 
him  on  his  face,  they  put  a  streak  of  crooked  lightning  under  his 
feet,  a  sunbeam  under  his  knees,  a  piece  of  straight  lightning  under 
his  chest,  another  under  his  outstretched  hands,  and  a  rainbow 
under  his  forehead. 

576.  An  Eagle  then  seized  each  end  of  these  six  supports,  —  mak- 
ing twelve  Eagles  in  all,  —  and  they  flew  with  the  Navaho  and  the 
eaglets  away  from  the  eyry.     They  circled  round  twice  with  their 
burden  before  they  reached  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  cliff.     They 
circled   round   twice   more   ascending,  and   then    flew   toward   the 
south,  still  going  upwards.     When  they  got  above  the  top  of  Tsotsi/ 
(Mt.    Taylor),    they   circled   four   times    more,    until    they   almost 
touched  the  sky.     Then  they  began  to  flag  and  breathed  hard,  and 
they  cried  out:  "We  are  weary.     We  can  fly  no  farther."     The 
voice  of  one,  unseen  to  the  Navaho,  cried  from  above :  "  Let  go  your 
burden."     The  Eagles  released  their  hold  on  the  supports,  and  the 
Navaho  felt  himself  descending  swiftly  toward  the  earth.     But  he 
had  not  fallen  far  when  he  felt  himself  seized  around  the  waist  and 
chest,    he  felt  something  twining   itself   around   his   body,    and   a 
moment  later  he  beheld  the  heads  of  two  Arrow-snakes 253  looking 
at   him  over  his   shoulders.     The  Arrow-snakes  bore  him  swiftly 
upwards,  up  through  the  sky-hole,  and  landed  him  safely  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  upper  world  above  the  sky. 

577.  When  he  looked  around  him  he  observed  four  pueblo  dwell- 
ings, or  towns  :  a  white  pueblo  in  the  east,  a  blue  pueblo  in  the 
south,  a  yellow  pueblo  in  the  west,  and  a  black  pueblo  in  the  north. 
Wolf  was  the  chief  of  the  eastern  pueblo,  Blue  Fox  of  the  southern, 
Puma  of  the  western,  and  Big  Snake  of  the  northern.     The  Navaho 
was  left  at  liberty  to  go  where  he  chose,  but  Wind  whispered  into 
his  ear  and  said  :  "  Visit,  if  you  wish,  all  the  pueblos  except  that  of 
the  north.    Chicken  Hawk254  and  other  bad  characters  dwell  there." 

578.  Next  he  observed  that  a  war  party  was  preparing,  and  soon 
after  his  arrival  the  warriors  went  forth.    What  enemies  they  sought 
he  could  not  learn.    He  entered  several  of  the  houses,  was  well  treated 
wherever  he  went,  and  given  an  abundance  of  paper  bread  and  other 
good  food  to  eat.     He  saw  that  in  their  homes  the  Eagles  were  just 
like  ordinary  people  down  on  the  lower  world.     As  soon  as  they 
entered  their  pueblos  they  took  off  their  feather  suits,  hung  these 
up  on  pegs  and  poles,  and  went  around  in  white  suits  which  they 
wore  underneath  their  feathers  when  in  flight.     He  visited  all  the 
pueblos  except  the  black  one  in  the  north.     In  the  evening  the  war- 
riors returned.      They  were  received  with  loud  wailing   and  with 
tears,  for  many  who  went  out  in  the  morning  did  not  return  at 
night.     They  had  been  slain  in  battle. 


The  Great  Shell  of  K^inty el.  201 

579.  In  a  few  days  another  war  party  was  organized,  and  this  time 
the  Navaho  determined  to  go  with  it.    When  the  warriors  started  on 
the  trail  he  followed  them.     "  Whither  are  you  going  ?  "  they  asked. 
"I  wish  to  be  one  of  your  party,"  he  replied.     They  laughed  at  him 
and  said  :  "  You  are  a  fool  to  think  you  can  go  to  war  against  such 
dreadful  enemies  as  those  that  we  fight.    We  can  move  as  fast  as  the 
wind,  yet  our  enemies  can  move  faster.     If  they  are  able  to  overcome 
us,  what  chance  have  you,  poor  man,  for  your  life  ? "     Hearing  this, 
he  remained  behind,  but  they  had  not  travelled  far  when  he  hurried 
after  them.    When  he  overtook  them,  which  he  soon  did,  they  spoke 
to  him  angrily,  told  him  more  earnestly  than  before  how  helpless  he 
was,  and  how  great  his  danger,  and  bade  him  return  to  the  villages. 
Again  he  halted ;  but  as  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight  he  began 
to  run  after  them,  and  he  came  up  with  them  at  the  place  where 
they  had  encamped  for  the  night.     Here  they  gave  him  of  their 
food,  and  again  they  scolded  him,  and  sought  to  dissuade  him  from 
accompanying  them. 

580.  In  the  morning,  when  the  warriors  resumed  their  march,  he 
remained  behind  on  the  camping-ground,,  as  if  he  intended  to  re- 
turn ;  but '  as  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight  he  proceeded  again  to 
follow  them.     He  had  not  travelled  far  when  he  saw  smoke  coming 
up  out  of  the  ground,  and  approaching  the  smoke  he  found  a  smoke- 
hole,  out  of  which  stuck  an  old  ladder,  yellow  with  smoke,  such  as 
we  see  in  the  pueblo  dwellings  to-day.     He  looked  down  through 
the  hole  and  beheld/ in  a  subterranean  chamber  beneath,  a  strange- 
looking  old  woman  with  a  big  mouth.     Her  teeth  were  not  set  in 
her  head  evenly  and  regularly,  like  those  of  an  Indian ;  they  pro- 
truded from  her  mouth,  were  set  at  a  distance  from  one  another, 
and  were  curved  like  the  claws  of  a  bear.     She  was  NasUe'  Estsan, 
the  Spider  Woman.     She  invited  him  into  her  house,  and  he  passed 
down  the  ladder. 

581.  When  he  got  inside,  the  Spider  Woman  showed  him  four 
large  wooden  hoops,  — one  in  the  east  colored  black,  one  in  the  south 
colored  blue,  one  in  the  west  colored  yellow,  and  one  in  the  north 
white  and  sparkling.     Attached  to  each  hoop  were  a  number  of 
decayed,  ragged  feathers.     "These  feathers,"  said  she,  "were  once 
beautiful  plumes,  but  now  they  are  old  and  dirty.     I  want  some  new 
plumes  to  adorn  my  hoops,  and  you  can  get  them  for  me.     Many  of 
the  Eagles  will  be  killed  in  the  battle  to  which  you  are  going,  and 
when  they  die  you  can  pluck  out  the  plumes  and  bring  them  to  me. 
Have  no  fear  of  the  enemies.    Would  you  know  who  they  are  that 
the  Eagles  go  to  fight  ?     They  are  only  the  bumblebees  and  the 
tumble-weeds."  256    She  gave  him  a  long  black  cane  and  said  :  "  With 
this  you  can  gather  the  tumble-weeds  into  a  pile,  and  then  you  can 


2O2  Navaho  Legends. 

set  them  on  fire.  Spit  the  juice  of  trildilgl'si ffi7  at  the  bees  and  they 
cannot  sting  you.  But  before  you  burn  up  the  tumble-weeds  gather 
some  of  the  seeds,  and  when  you  have  killed  the  bees  take  some 
of  their  nests.  You  will  need  these  things  when  you  return  to  the 
earth."  When  Spider  Woman  had  done  speaking  the  Navaho  left 
to  pursue  his  journey. 

582.  He  travelled  on,  and  soon  came  up  with  the  warriors  where 
they  were  hiding  behind  a  little  hill  and  preparing  for  battle.     Some 
were  putting  on  their  plumes;  others  were  painting  and  adorning 
themselves.     From  time  to  time  one  of  their  number  would  creep 
cautiously  to  the  top  of  the  hill  and  peep  over ;  then  he  would  run 
back  and  whisper:  "  There  are  the  enemies.     They  await  us."     The 
Navaho  went  to  the  top  of  the  hill  and  peered  over;  but  he  could 
see  no  enemy  whatever.     He  saw  only  a  dry,  sandy  flat,  covered  in 
one  place  with  sunflowers,  and  in  another  place  with  dead  weeds ; 
for  it  was  now  late  in  the  autumn  in  the  world  above. 

583.  Soon  the  Eagles  were  all  ready  for  the  fray.     They  raised 
their  war-cry,  and  charged  over  the  hill  into  the  sandy  plain.     The 
Navaho  remained  behind  the  hill,  peeping  over  to  see  what  would 
occur.     As  the  warriors  approached  the  plain  a  whirlwind  arose  ; 258 
a  great  number  of  tumble-weeds  ascended  with  the  wind  and  surged 
around  madly  through  the  air ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  from  among 
the  sunflowers  a  cloud  of  bumblebees  arose.     The  Eagles  charged 
through  the  ranks  of  their  enemies,  and  when  they  had  passed  to 
the  other  side  they  turned  around  and  charged  back  again.     Some 
spread  their  wings  and  soared  aloft  to  attack  the  tumble-weeds  that 
had  gone  up  with  the  whirlwind.     From  time  to  time  the  Navaho 
noticed  the  dark  body  of  an  Eagle  falling  down  through  the  air. 
When  the  combat  had  continued  some  time,  the  Navaho  noticed  a 
few  of  the  Eagles  running  toward  the  hill  where  he  lay  watching.    In 
a  moment  some  more  came  running  toward  him,  and  soon  after  the 
whole  party  of  Eagles,  all  that  was  left  of  it,  rushed  past  him,  in  a 
disorderly  retreat,  in  the  direction  whence  they  had  come,  leaving 
many  slain  on  the  field.     Then  the  wind  fell ;  the  tumble-weeds  lay 
quiet  again  on  the  sand,  and  the  bumblebees  disappeared  among 
the  sunflowers. 

584.  When  all  was  quiet,  the  Navaho  walked  down  to  the  sandy 
flat,  and,  having  gathered  some  of  the  seeds  and  tied  them  up  in  a 
corner  of  his  shirt,  he  collected  the  tumble-weeds  into  a  pile,  using 
his  black  wand.     Then  he  took  out  his  fire-drill,  started  a  flame,  and 
burnt  up  the  whole  pile.    He  gathered  some  trnWllgi'si,  as  the  Spider 
Woman  had  told  him,  chewed  it,  and  went, in  among  the  sunflowers. 
Here  the  bees  gathered  around  him  in  a  great  swarm,  and  sought 
to  sting  him ;  but  he  spat  the  juice  of  the  ttfUilgi'si  at  them  and 


The  Great  Shell  of  KmtyeL  203 

stunned  with  it  all  that  he  struck.  Soon  the  most  of  them  lay  help- 
less on  the  ground,  and  the  others  fled  in  fear.  He  went  around 
with  his  black  wand  and  killed  all  that  he  could  find.  He  dug  into 
the  ground  and  got  out  some  of  their  nests  and  honey ;  he  to*ok  a 
couple  of  the  young  bees  and  tied  their  feet  together,  and  all  these 
things  he  put  into  the  corner  of  his  blanket.  When  the  bees  were 
conquered  he  d,id  not  forget  the  wishes  of  his  friend,  the  Spider 
Woman  ;  he  went  around  among  the  dead  eagles,  and  plucked  as 
many  plumes  as  he  could  grasp  in  both  hands. 

585.  He  set  out  on  his  return  journey,  and  soon  got  back  to  the 
house  of  Spider  Woman.     He  gave  her  the  plumes  and  she  said : 
"  Thank  you,  my  grandchild,  you  have  brought  me  the  plumes  that 
I  have  long  wanted  to  adorn  my  walls,  and  you  have  done  a  great 
service  to  your  friends,  the  Eagles,  because  you  have  slain  their  ene- 
mies."    When  she  had  spoken  he  set  out  again  on  his  journey. 

586.  He  slept  that  night  on  the  trail,  and  next  morning  he  got 
back  to  the  towns  of  the  Eagles.     As  he  approached  he  heard  from 
afar  the  cries  of  the  mourners,  and  when  he  entered  the  place  the 
people  gathered  around  him  and  said:  "We  have  lost  many  of  our 
kinsmen,  and  we  are  wailing  for  them  ;    but  we  have  been  also 
mourning  for  you,  for  those  who  returned  told  us  you  had  been 
killed  in  the  fight." 

587.  He  made  no  reply,  but  took  from  his  blanket  the  two  young 
bumblebees  and  swung  them  around  his  head.     All  the  people  were 
terrified  and  ran,  and  they  did  not  stop  running  till  they  got  safely 
behind  their  houses.     In  a  little  while  they  got  over  their  fear,  came 
slowly  from  behind  their  houses,  and  crowded  around  the  Navaho 
again.     A  second  time  he  swung  the  bees  around  his  head,  and  a 
second  time  the  people  ran  away  in  terror ;  but  this  time  they  only 
went  as  far  as  the  front  walls  of  their  houses,  and  soon  they  returned 
again    to   the   Navaho.     The  third   time  that  he  swung  the  bees 
around  his  head  they  were  still  less  frightened,  ran  but  half  way  to 
their  houses,  and  returned  very  soon.     The  fourth  time  that  he 
swung  the  bees  they  only  stepped  back  a  step  or  two.     When  their 
courage  came  back  to  them,  he  laid  the  two  bees  on  the  ground ; 
he  took  out  the  seeds  of  the  tumble-weeds  and  laid  them  on  the 
ground  beside  the  bees,  and  then  he  said  to  the  Eagle  People :  "  My 
friends,  here  are  the  children  of  your  enemies  ;  when  you  see  these 
you  may  know  that  I  have  slain  your  enemies."     There  was  great 
rejoicing  among  the  people  when  they  heard  this,  and  this  one  said  : 
"  It  is  well.     They  have  slain  my  brother,"  and  that  one  said  :  "  It  is 
well.     They  have  slain  my  father,"  and  another  said  :  "  It  is  well. 
They  have  slain  my  sons."     Then  Great  Wolf,  chief  of  the  white 
pueblo,  said  :  "  I  have  two  beautiful  maiden  daughters  whom  I  shall 


2O4  Navaho  Legends. 

give  to  you."  Then.  Fox,  chief  of  the  blue  pueblo  in  the  south, 
promised  him  two  more  maidens,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  other  pueblos 
promised  him  two  each,  so  that  eight  beautiful  maidens  were  prom- 
ised to  him  in  marriage. 

588.  The  chief  of  the  white  pueblo  now  conducted  the  Navaho  to 
his  house  and  into  a  large  and  beautiful  apartment,  the  finest  the 
poor  Indian  had  ever  seen.     It  had  a  smooth  wall,  nicely  coated 
with  white  earth,  a  large  fireplace,  mealing-stones,  beautiful  pots  and 
water-jars,   and  all  the  conveniences  and  furniture  of  a  beautiful 
pueblo  home.    And  the  chief  said  to  him  :  "  5a<a&ni,  my  son-in-law, 
this  house  is  yours." 

589.  The  principal  men  from  all  the  pueblos   now  came  to  visit 
him,    and   thanked   him   for    the    great    service   he   had   done   for 
them.     Then  his  maidens  from  the  yellow  house  came  in  bringing 
corn  meal ;  the  maidens  from  the  black  house  entered  bringing  soap- 
weed,  and  the  maidens  of  the  white  house,  where  he  was  staying, 
came  bearing  a  large  bowl  of  white  shell.     A  suds  of  the  soap-weed 
was  prepared  in  the  shell  bowl.     The  maidens  of  the  white  house 
washed  his  head  with  the  suds ;  the  maidens  of  the  black  house 
washed  his  limbs  and  feet,  and  those  of  the  yellow  house  dried  him 
with  corn   meal.     When  the  bath  was  finished  the  maidens  went 
out ;    but   they  returned  at    dark,   accompanied    this   time    by  the 
maidens  of  the  blue  house.     Each  of  the  eight  maidens  carried  a 
large  bowl  of  food,  and  each  bowl  contained  food  of  a  different  kind. 
They  laid  the  eight  bowls  down  before  the  Navaho,  and  he  ate  of 
all  till  he  was  satisfied.     Then  they  brought  in  beautiful  robes  and 
blankets,  and  spread  them  on  the  floor  for  his  bed. 

590.  Next  morning  the  Navaho  went  over  to  the  sky-hole,  taking 
with  him  the  young  bees  and  the  seeds  of  the  tumble-weeds.    To  the 
former  he  said :  "  Go  down  to  the  land  of  the  Navahoes  and  multiply 
there.     My  people  will  make  use  of  you  in  the  days  to  come  ;  but 
if  you  ever  cause  them  sorrow  and  trouble,  as  you  have  caused  the 
people  of  this  land,  I  shall  again  destroy  you."     As  he  spoke,  he 
flung  them  down  to  the  earth.     Then  taking  the  seeds  of  the  tum- 
ble-weeds in  his  hands,  he  spoke  to  them  as  he  had  spoken  to  the 
bees,  and  threw  them  down  through  the  sky-hole.     The  honey  of 
the  bees  and  the  seeds  of  the  tumble-weeds  are  now  used  in  the 
rites  of  yoi  ^a/a/,  or  the  bead  chant. 

591.  The  Navaho  remained  in  the  pueblos  of  the  Eagle  People 
twenty-four  days,  during   which   time   he   was   taught   the   songs, 
prayers,  ceremonies,  and  sacrifices  of  the  Eagles,  the  same  as  those 
now  known  to  us  in  the  rite  of  yoi  /za^a/;259  and  when  he  had  learned 
all,  the  people  told  him  it  was  time  for  him  to  return  to  the  earth, 
whence  he  had  come. 


The  Great  Shell  of  Kmtyel.  205 

592.  They  put  on  him  a  robe  of  eagle  plumage,  such  as  they  wore 
themselves,    and   led   him    to   the   sky-hole.      They   said   to    him: 
"  When  you  came  up  from  the  lower  world  you  were  heavy  and  had 
to  be  carried  by  others.     Henceforth  you  will  be  light  and  can  move 
through  the  air  with  your  own  power."     He  spread  his  wings  to 
show  that  he  was  ready ;  the  Eagles  blew  a  powerful  breath  behind 
him  ;  he  went  down  through  the  sky -hole,  and  was  wafted  down  on 
his  outstretched  wings  until  he  lit  on  the  summit  of  Tsotsi/. 

593.  He  went  back  to  his  own  relations  among  the  Navahoes ; 
but  when  he  went  back  everything  about  their  lodge  smelt  ill ;  its 
odors  were  intolerable  to  him,   and  he  left  it  and  sat  outside.260 
They  built  for  him  then  a  medicine-lodge  where  he  might  sit  by 
himself.     They  bathed  his  younger  brother,  clothed   him  in  new 
raiment,  and  sent  him,  too,  into  the  lodge,  to  learn  what  his  elder 
brother  could  tell  him.      The  brothers  spent  twelve  days  in  the 
lodge  together,  during  which  the  elder  brother  told  his  story  and 
•instructed  the  younger  in  all  the  rites  and  songs  learned  among  the 
Eagles. 

594.  After  this  he  went  to  visit  the  pueblo  of  Kintyel,   whose 
inmates  had  before  contemplated  such  treachery  to  him  ;  but  they 
did  not  recognize  him.     He  now  looked  sleek  and  well  fed.     He  was 
beautifully  dressed  and  comely  in  his  person,  for"  the  Eagles  had 
moulded,  in  beauty,  his  face  and  form.     The  pueblo  people  never 
thought  that  this  was  the  poor  beggar  whom  they  had  left  to  die  in 
the  eagles'  nest.     He  noticed  that  there  were  many  sore  and  lame 
in  the  pueblo.    A  new  disease,  they  told  him,  had  broken  out  among 
them.     This   was   the   disease    which   they   had    caught   from   the 
feathers  of  the  eaglets  when  they  were  attacking  the  nest.     "  I  have 
a  brother,"  said  the  Navaho,  "who  is  a  potent  shaman.     He  knows 
a  rite  that  will  cure  this  disease."     The  people  of  the  pueblo  con- 
sulted together  and  concluded  to  employ  his  brother  to  perform  the 
ceremony  over  their  suffering  ones. 

595.  The  Navaho  said  that  he  must  be  one  of  the  atsa'/ei,261  or 
first  dancers,  and  that  in  order  to  perform  the  rite  properly  he  must 
be  dressed  in  a  very  particular  way.     He  must,  he  said,  have  strings 
of   fine   beads  —  shell  and  turquoise  —  sufficient  to  cover  his  legs 
and  forearms  completely,  enough  to  go  around  his  neck,  so  that  he 
could  not  bend  his  head  back,  and  great  strings  to  pass  over  the 
shoulder  and  under  the  arm  on  each  side.    He  must  have  the  largest 
shell  basin  to  be  found  in  either  pueblo  to  hang  on  his  back,  and  the 
one  next  in  size  to  hang  on  his  chest.     He  must  have  their  longest 
and  best  strings  of  turquoise  to  hang  to  his  ears.     The  Wind  told 
him  that  the  greatest  shell  basin  they  had  was  so  large  that  if  he 
tried  to  embrace  it  around  the  edge,  his  finger-tips  would  scarcely 


206  Navaho  Legends. 

meet  on  the  opposite  side,  and  that  this  shell  he  must  insist  on 
having.  The  next  largest  shell,  Wind  told  him,  was  but  little 
smaller.262 

596.  Three  days  after  this  conference,  people  began  to  come  in 
from  different  pueblos  in  the  Chaco  Canyon  and  from  pueblos  on 
the  banks  of  the  San  Juan,  —  all  these  pueblos  are  now  in  ruins,  - 
and  soon  a  great  multitude  had  assembled.     Meantime,  too,  they 
collected  shells  and  beads  from  the  various  pueblos  in   order  to 
dress  the  atsa'/ei  as  he  desired.    They  brought  him  some  great  shell 
basins  and  told  him  these  were  what  he  wanted  for  the  dance ;  but 
he  measured  them  with  his  arms  as  Wind  had  told  him,  and,  finding 
that  his  hands  joined  easily  when  he  embraced  the  shells,  he  dis- 
carded them.     They  brought  him  larger  and  larger  shells,  and  tried 
to  persuade  him  that  such  were  their   largest ;    but  he  tried  and 
rejected  all.     On  the  last  day,  with  reluctance,  they  brought  him 
the  great  shell  of  Kintyel  and  the  great  shell   of  Ki'ndo/lte.     He 
clasped  the  first  in  his  arms ;  his  fingers  did  not  meet  on  the  oppo- 
site side.     He  clasped  the  second  in  his  arms,  and  the  tips  of  his 
fingers  just  met.     "These,"  said  he,  "are  the  shells  I  must  wear 
when  I  dance." 

597.  Four  days  before  that  on  which  the  last  dance  was  to  occur, 
the  pueblo  people  sent  out  messengers  to  the  neighboring  camps 


Fig.  37.   Circle  of  branches  of  the  rite  of  the  mountain  chant,  after  ceremony  is  over. 

of  Navahoes,  to  invite  the  latter  to  witness  the  exhibition  of  the 
last  night  and  to  participate  in  it  with  some  of  their  alili  (dances 
or  dramas).  One  of  the  messengers  went  to  the  Chelly  Canyon 
and  there  he  got  Ga/zaski^i,  with  his  son  and  daughter,  to  come  and 
perform  a  dance.  The  other  messengers  started  for  the  Navaho 
camp  at  the  foot  of  Tsotsi/  on  the  south  (near  where  Cobero  is 


The  Great  Shell  of  Kmtyel.  207 

now).  On  his  way  he  met  an  akanmili,  or  messenger,  coming  from 
Tsotsi/  to  invite  the  people  of  the  Chaco  Canyon  to  a  great  Navaho 
ceremony.  (You  have  heard  all  about  the  meeting  of  these  mes- 
sengers in  the  legend  of  the  mountain  chant.  I  shall  not  now 
repeat  it.)263  The  messengers  exchanged  bows  and  quivers  as  a 
sign  they  had  met  one  another,  and  the  messenger  from  Kmtyel 
returned  to  his  people  without  being  able  to  get  the  Navahoes  to 
attend.  This  is  the  reason  that,  on  the  last  night  of  the  great  cere- 
mony of  yoi  /za^a/,  there  are  but  few  different  dances  or  shows. 

598.  On  the  evening  of  the  last  day  they  built  a  great  circle  of 
branches,  such  as  the  Navahoes  build  now  for  the  rites  of  the  moun- 
tain chant  (fig.  37),  and  a  great  number  of  people  crowded  into  the 
inclosure.    They  lighted  the  fires  and  dressed  the  atsa'/ei  in  all  their 
fine  beads  and  shells  just  as  he  desired  them  to  dress  him.     They 
put  the  great  shell  of  Kmtyel  on  his  back,  and  the  great  shell  of 
Kfndb/lte  on  his   chest,  and   another  fine  shell  on  his   forehead. 
Then  the  Navaho  began  to  dance,  and  his  brother,  the  medicine- 
man, began  to  sing,  and  this  was  the  song  he  sang  :  — 

The  white-corn  plant's  great  ear  sticks  up. 
Stay  down  and  eat. 

The  blue-corn  plant's  great  ear  sticks  up. 
Stay  down  and  eat. 

The  yellow-corn  plant's  great  ear  sticks  up. 
Stay  down  and  eat. 

The  black-corn  plant's  great  ear  sticks  up. 
Stay  down  and  eat. 

All-colored  corn's  great  ear  sticks  up. 
Stay  down  and  eat. 

The  round-eared  corn's  great  ear  sticks  up. 
Stay  down  and  eat.287 

599.  This  seemed  a  strange  song  to  the  pueblo  people,  and  they 
all  wondered  what  it  could  mean  ;  but  they  soon  found  out  what  it 
meant,  for  they  observed  that  the  dancing  Navaho  was  slowly  rising 

.from  the  ground.  First  his  head  and  then  his  shoulders  appeared 
above  the  heads  of  the  crowd  ;  next  his  chest  and  waist ;  but  it  was 
not  until  his  whole  body  had  risen  above  the  level  of  their  heads 
that  they  began  to  realize  the  loss  that  threatened  them.  He  was 
rising  toward  the  sky  with  the  great  shell  of  Kmtyel,  and  all  the 
wealth  of  many  pueblos  in  shell-beads  and  turquoise  on  his  body. 
Then  they  screamed  wildly  to  him  and  called  him  by  all  sorts  of 
dear  names  —  father,  brother,  son  —  to  come  down  again,  but  the 


208  Navaho  Legends. 

more  they  called  the  higher  he  rose.  When  his  feet  had  risen  above 
them  they  observed  that  a  streak  of  white  lightning  passed  under 
his  feet  like  a  rope,  and  hung  from  a  dark  cloud  that  gathered 
above.  It  was  the  gods  that  were  lifting  him ;  for  thus,  the  legends 
say,  the  gods  lift  mortals  to  the  sky.  When  the  pueblos  found  that 
no  persuasions  could  induce  the  Navaho  to  return,  some  called  for 
ropes  that  they  might  seize  him  and  pull  him  down ;  but  he  was 
soon  beyond  the  reach  of  their  longest  rope.  Then  a  shout  was 
raised  for  arrows  that  they  might  shoot  him  ;  but  before  the  arrows 
could  come  he  was  lost  to  sight  in  the  black  cloud  and  was  never 
more  seen  on  earth. 


NOTES. 


NOTES. 


1.  How  and  when  the  name  Navajo  (pronounced  Na'va-ho)  originated  has  not 
been  discovered.     It  is  only  known  that  this  name  was  given  by  the  Spaniards 
while  they  still  claimed  the  Navaho  land.     The  name  is  generally  supposed  to 
be  derived  from  navaja,  which  means  a  clasp-knife,  or  razor,  and  to  have  been 
applied  because  the  Navaho  warriors  carried  great  stone  knives  in  former  days. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  name  comes  from  navdjo,  a  pool  or  small  lake. 
The  Navahoes  call  themselves  ZJme*  or  Dm£,  which  means  simply,  men,  people. 
This  word  in  the  various  forms,   Dene,  Tinne'h,  Tunnd,  etc.,  is  used  as',  a  tribal 
designation  for  many  branches  of  the  Athapascan  stock.  • 

2.  The    Carrizo  Mountains   consist   of   an  isolated   mountain  mass,  about  12 
miles  in  its  greatest  diameter,  situated  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Arizona.     It  is 
called  by  the  Navahoes  Dsl/ndodsi/,  which  means  mountain  surrounded  by  moun- 
tains;  such  is  the  appearance  of  the  landscape  viewed  from  the  highest  point, 
Pastora  Peak,  9,420  feet  high. 

3.  The  San  Juan  River,  a  branch  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West,  flows  in  a  westerly 
direction  through  the  northern  portion  of  the  Navaho  Reservation,  and  forms  in 
part  its  northern  boundary.     It  is  the  most  important  river  in  the  Navaho  country. 
It  has  two  names  in  the  Navaho  language :  one  is  SaVzbi/o'  (Water  of  Old  Age, 
or  Old  Age  River),  said  to  be  given  because  the  stream  is  white  with  foam  and 
looks  like  the  hair  of  an  old  man ;   the  other  is  Tb'baka"  (Male  Water),  given 
because  it  is  turbulent  and  strong  in  contrast  to  the  placid  Rio  Grande,  which 
the  Navahoes  call  Tb'baad,  or  Female  Water.    (See  note  137.)    Perhaps  the  river 
has  other  names. 

4.  Tu-m-tra  is  derived  from  to*  or   Ai  (water)  and   mtya'  or  mtsa"  (abundant, 
scattered  widely).     The  name  is  spelled  Tuincha,  Tuintcha,  and  Tunicha  on  our 
maps.     The  Tuincha  Mountains  are  situated  partly  in  New  Mexico  and  partly  in 
Arizona,  about  30  miles  from  the  northern  boundary  of  both  Territories.     They 
form  the  middle  portion  of  a  range  of  which  the  Chusca  and  Lukachokai  Moun- 
tains form  the  rest.     The  portion  known  as  Tumtrd  is  about  12  miles  long.     The 
highest  point  is  9,575  feet  above  sea-level.     The  top  of  the  range,  which  is  rather 
level  and  plateau-like,  is  well  covered  with  timber,  mostly  spruce  and  pine,  and 
abounds  in  small  lakes  and  ponds  ;  hence  the  name  Tufcitrd. 

5.  The  basket  illustrated  in  fig.  16  is  made  of  twigs  of  aromatic  sumac  (Rhus 
aromatica,v2x.trilobata).     It  is  13'  in  diameter  and  3$'  deep.     In  forming  the 
helical  coil,  the  fabricator  must  always  put  the  butt  end  of  the  twig  toward  the 
centre  of  the  basket  and  the  tip  end  toward  the  periphery,  in  accordance  with  the 
ceremonial  laws  governing  the  disposition  of  butts  and  tips  (see  notes   12  and 
319).     The  sole  decoration  is  a  band,  red  in  the  middle  with  black  zigzag  edges. 
This  band  is  intersected  at  one  point  by  a  narrow  line  of  uncolored  wood.     This 
line  has  probably  no  relation  to  the  "  line  of  life  "  in  ancient  and  modern  pueblo 
pottery.     It  is  put  there  to  assist  in  the  orientation  of  the  basket  at  night,  in  the 
dim  light  of  the  medicine-lodge.     In  making  the  basket,  the  butt  of  the  first  twig 
is  placed  in  the  centre ;  the  tip  of  the  last  twig,  in  the  helix,  must  be  in  the  same 
radial  line,  which  is  marked  by  the  uncolored  line  crossing  the  ornamental  band. 


212  Notes. 

This  line  must  lie  due  east  and  west  on  certain  ceremonial  occasions,  as  for 
instance  when  the  basket,  inverted,  is  used  as  a  drum  during  the  last  five  nights 
of  the  night  chant.  The  margin  of  this,  as  of  other  Navaho  baskets,  is  finished 
in  a  diagonally  woven  or  plaited  pattern,  and  there  is  a  legend,  which  the  author 
has  related  in  a  former  paper,821  accounting  for  the  origin  of  this  form  of  mar- 
gin. If  the  margin  is  worn  through  or  torn,  the  basket  is  unfit  for  sacred  use. 
The  basket  is  one  of  the  perquisites  of  the  shaman  when  the  rites  are  done ;  but 
he,  in  turn,  must  give  it  away,  and  must  be  careful  never  to  eat  out  of  it.  Notwith- 
standing its  sacred  uses,  food  may  be  served  in  it.  Fig.  25  represents  a  basket  of 
this  kind  used  as  a  receptacle  for  sacrificial  sticks  and  cigarettes.  In  this  case 
the  termination  of  the  helix  must  be  in  the  east,  and  the  sacrifices  sacred  to  the 
east  must  be  in  the  eastern  quarter  of  the  basket. 

Fig.  17  shows  the  other  form  of  sacred  basket.  It  is  also  made  of  aromatic 
sumac,  and  is  used  in  the  rites  to  hold  sacred  meal.  The  crosses  are  said  to  repre- 
sent clouds,  and  the  zigzag  lines  to  indicate  lightning. 

6.  The  ceremonies  of  "  House  Dedication  "  are  described  at  some  length  by  Mr. 
A.  M.  Stephen  in  his  excellent  paper  on  "  The  Navajo,"  329  and  he  gives  a  free 
translation  of  a  prayer  and  a  song  belonging  to  these  rites. 

7.  A-na-ye',  or  a-nd-ye,  is  composed  of  two  words,  ana"  and  ydi  or  ye.     Ana, 
sometimes  contracted  to  na,  signifies  a  member  of  an  alien  tribe,  —  one  not  speak- 
ing a  language  similar  to  the  Navaho,  —  and  is  often  synonymous  with  enemy. 
Ye  (see  par.  78)  may  be  defined  as  genius  or  god.     The  ana"ye  were  the  offspring 
of  women  conceived  during  the  separation  of  the  sexes  in  the  fourth  world. 

8.  Ti-d-hol-tso-di  is  a  water  god,  or  water  monster,  a  god  of  terrestrial  waters,  — 
not  a  rain  god.     He  seems  akin  to  the  Unktehi  of  the  Dakotas.     He  is  said  to 
dwell  in  the  great  water  of  the  east,  /.  £.,  the  Atlantic  Ocean.    Although  commonly 
spoken  of  as  one,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  Navahoes  believe  in  many  of  the 
Tie'holtsodi.     Probably  every  constant  stream  or  spring  has  its  own  water  god, 
(See  note  152.)    A  picture  of  this  god  is  said  to  be  made  in  a  dry-painting  of  the 
rite  of  hoz6m  ^a/a7,  but  the  author  has  not  seen  it.     Tie'holtsodi  is  described  as 
having  a  fine  fur,  and  being  otherwise  much  like  an  otter  in   appearance,  but 
having  horns  like  a  buffalo.     (See  pars.  140,  187,  484,  485.) 

9.  Tju-r-kai  or  Tjd-u-kai  is  the  name  given  by  the  Navahoes  to  a  prominent 
conical  hill  rising  8,800  feet  above  sea-level,  in  northwestern  New  Mexico,  about 
twenty-six  miles  north  of  Defiance  Station  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad. 
It  is  called  Chusca  Knoll,  Chusca  Peak,  and  Choiskai  Peak  by  geographers.     It 
rises  abruptly  four  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the  level  of  the  neighboring  ridge. 
is  visible  at  a  great  distance  from  the  south  (but  not  from  the  north),  and  forms 
a  prominent  landmark.     The  Navahoes  limit   the  name   Tju^kai   to  this  knoll, 
but  the  Mexicans,  and  following  them  the  Americans,  apply  the  name  in  differ- 
ent forms  (Chusca  Mountains,  Sierra  de  Chusca,  Chuska,  Chuskai,  Tchuskai,  etc.) 
to  the  whole  mountain  mass  from  which  the  knoll  rises.     The  name,  not  accurately 
translated,  contains  the  words  for  spruce  (tjo)  and  white  (kai). 

10.  The  bath  forms  an  important  part  of  the  Navaho  rites,  being  administered 
on  many  occasions,  and  it  is  often  mentioned  in  the  tales.    It  usually  consists  of  a 
suds  made  in  a  water-tight  wicker  basket  by  soaking  the  root  of  some  species  of 
yucca  (see  note  88)  in  water ;  the  root  of  Yucca  baccata  being  usually  preferred, 
as  it  seems  richest  in  saponine.     After  the  application  of  the  suds,  the  subject  is 
commmonly  rinsed  off  with  plain  water  and  dried  by  rubbing  on  corn  meal.    In 
different  ceremonies  different  observances  are  connected  with  the  bath.     In  the 
myth  of  "  The  Mountain  Chant,"  314  pp.  389,  390,  a  bath  is  described  as  part  of  the 
ceremony  of  the  deer-hunt.     It  is  given,  no  doubt,  in  preparing  for  the  hunt,  for 
practical  as  well  as  religious  reasons.    It  is  important  that  the  hunter  should  divest 
himself  as  much  as  possible  of  his  personal  odor  when  he  goes  to  kill  game. 


Notes.  2 1 3 

11.  Pollen  (Navaho,  th?ud\t\.ri)  is  obtained,  for  sacred  uses,  from  various  plants, 
but  Indian  corn  is  the  chief  source  of  supply.     The  pollen  is  carried  in  small  buck- 
skin bags,  which  also  usually  contain  small  sacred  stones,  such  as  rock  crystal  and 
pyrophyllite,  or  small  animal  fetiches.     The  administration  or  sacrifice  of  pollen 
is  a  part  of  all  rites  witnessed,  and  almost  always  follows  or  accompanies  prayer. 
It  is  used  in  different  ways  on  different  occasions  ;  but  the  commonest  way  is  to 
take  a  small  pinch  from  the  bag,  apply  a  portion  of  it  to  the  tongue  and  a  portion 
to  the  crown  of  the  head.     For  some  purposes,  the  shaman  collects  a  quantity  of 
pollen,  puts  it  in  a  large  bag,  immerses  in  it  some  live  bird,  insect,  or  other  animal, 
and  then  allows  the  prisoner  to  escape.     This  is  supposed  to  add  extra  virtue  to 
the  pollen.     In  one  kind  called  i'yi^/eznd  a  bluebird,  a  yellowbird,  and  a  grass- 
hopper are  put  in  the  pollen  together.     In  note  49  we  have  a  mythic  account 
of  pollen  put  on  the  young  of  the  sea  monster  and  then  preserved.     Pollen  which 
has  been  applied  to  a  ceremonial  dry-painting  is  preserved  for  future  uses.     Pollen 
in  which  a  live  striped  lizard  has  been  placed  is  used  to  favor  eutocia.     The  term 
th&d\t\n  is  applied  to  various  things   having  the  appearance  of  an  impalpable 
powder,  such  as  the  misty  hues  of  the  horizon  in  the  morning  and  evening,  due 
in  Arizona  more  frequently  to  dust  in  the  air  than  to  moisture.     Captain  Bourke, 
in  "  The  Medicine-men  of  the  Apache,"  295  chapter  ii.,  describes  many  modes  of 
using  pollen  which  exist  also  among  the  Navahoes. 

12.  The  following  are  a  few  additional  observances  with  regard  to  kethawns :  — 
In  cutting  the  reed  used  for  a  series  of  cigarettes,  they  cut  off  a  piece  first  from  the 

end  nearest  the  root,  and  they  continue  to  cut  off  as  many  pieces  as  may  be  neces- 
sary from  butt  to  point.  The  pieces,  according  as  they  are  cut,  are  notched  near 
the  butt  (with  a  stone  knife),  so  that  the  relations  of  the  two  extremities  of  the 
piece  may  not  be  forgotten.  All  through  the  painting  of  the  cigarettes,  and  the 
various  manipulations  that  follow,  the  butt  end  must  be  the  nearer  to  the  operator, 
and  the  tip  end  the  farther  away  from  him.  Since  the  cigarette-maker  sits  in  the 
west  of  the  medicine-lodge  facing  the  east,  the  cigarettes,  while  there,  must  lie  east 
and  west,  with  the  tips  to  the  east.  If  a  number  of  cigarettes  are  made  for  one 
act  of  sacrifice,  the  first  piece  cut  off  is  marked  with  one  notch  near  the  base,  the 
second  piece  with  two  notches,  the  third  piece  with  three  notches,  the  fourth  piece 
with  four  notches,  all  near  the  butt  ends.  This  is  done  in  order  that  they  may 
always  be  distinguished  from  one  another,  and  their  order  of  precedence  from  butt 
to  tip  may  not  be  disregarded.  When  they  are  taken  up  to  be  painted,  to  have  the 
sacred  feathers  of  the  bluebird  and  yellowbird  inserted  into  them,  to  be  filled  with 
tobacco,  to  be  sealed  with  moistened  pollen,  or  to  be  symbolically  lighted  with  the 
rock  crystal,  the  piece  that  came  from  nearest  the  butt  (the  senior  cigarette,  let  us 
call  it)  is  taken  first,  that  nearest  the  tip  last.  When  they  are  collected  to  be  placed 
in  the  patient's  hands,  when  they  are  applied  to  his  or  her  person,  and  finally  when 
they  are  taken  out  and  sacrificed,  this  order  of  precedence  is  always  observed.  The 
order  of  precedence  in  position,  when  sacrifices  are  laid  out  in  a  straight  row,  is 
from  north  to  south  ;  the  senior  sacrifice  is  in  the  northern  extremity  of  the  row, 
the  junior  or  inferior  in  the  southern  extremity.  When  they  are  laid  out  in  a  circle, 
the  order  is  from  east  back  to  east  by  the  way  of  the  south,  west,  and  north.  The 
gods  to  whom  the  sacrifices  are  made  have  commonly  also  an  order  of  precedence, 
and  when  such  is  the  case  the  senior  sacrifice  is  dedicated  to  the  higher  god,  the 
junior  sacrifice  to  the  lower  god.  When  it  is  required  that  other  articles,  such  as 
feathers,  beads,  powdered  vegetable  and  mineral  substances,  be  sacrificed  with  the 
cigarettes,  all  these  things  are  placed  in  corn-husks.  To  do  this,  the  husks  are 
laid  down  on  a  clean  cloth  with  their  tips  to  the  east ;  the  cigarettes  are  laid  in 
them  one  by  one,  each  in  a  separate  husk,  with  their  tip  ends  to  the  east ;  and  the 
sacred  feathers  are  added  to  the  bundle  with  their  tips  also  to  the  east.  When  dry 


214  Notes. 

pollen  is  sprinkled  on  the  cigarette,  it  is  sprinkled  from  butt  to  tip.  When  moist 
pollen  is  daubed  on  the  side  of  the  cigarette,  it  is  daubed  from  butt  to  tip.  (From 
"  A  Study  in  Butts  and  Tips.")319  The  hollow  internodeof  the  reed  only  is  used. 
The  part  containing  the  solid  node  is  discarded  and  is  split  up,  so  that  when  thrown 
away  the  gods  may  not  mistake  it  for  a  true  cigarette  and  suffer  disappointment. 
All  the  debris  of  manufacture  is  carefully  collected  and  deposited  to  the  north  of 
the  medicine-lodge.  The  tobacco  of  commerce  must  not  be  employed.  A  plug  of 
feathers,  referred  to  above,  is  shoved  into  the  tube  from  tip  to  butt  (with  an  owl's 
feather)  to  keep  the  tobacco  from  falling  out  at  the  butt.  The  moistened  pollen 
keeps  the  tobacco  in  at  the  tip  end.  The  rules  for  measuring  kethawns  are  very 
elaborate.  One  or  more  finger-joints ;  the  span ;  the  width  of  the  outstretched 
hand,  from  tip  of  thumb  to  tip  of  little  finger ;  the  width  of  three  finger-tips  or 
of  four  finger-tips  joined,  —  are  a  few  of  the  measurements.  Each  kethawn  has  its 
established  size.  This  system  of  sacrifice  is  common  among  the  pueblo  tribes  of 
the  Southwest,  and  traces  of  it  have  been  found  elsewhere.  Fig.  23  represents 
a  thing  called  ke/dn  yal/f,  or  talking  kethawn  (described  in  "  The  Mountain 
Chant,"  814  p.  452),  consisting  of  a  male  stick  painted  black  and  a  female  stick  painted 
blue.  Fig.  24  shows  a  kethawn  used  in  the  ceremony  of  the  night  chant ;  a  dozen 
such  are  made  for  one  occasion,  but  male  and  female  are  not  distinguished.  Fig. 
25  depicts  a  set  of  fifty-two  kethawns,  used  also  in  the  night  chant :  of  these  the  four 
in  the  centre  are  cigarettes  lying  on  meal ;  the  forty-eight  surrounding  the  meal  are 
sticks  of  wood.  Those  in  the  east  are  made  of  mountain  mahogany,  those  in  the 
south  of  Forestiera  neo-mexicana,  those  in  the  west  of  juniper,  and  those  in  the 
north  of  cherry.  A  more  elaborate  description  of  them  must  be  reserved  for  a 
future  work. 

13.  "Sacred  buckskin  "  is  a  term  employed  by  the  author,  for  convenience,  to 
designate  those  deerskins  specially  prepared  for  use  in  making  masks  and  for  other 
purposes  in  the  Navaho  rites.     The  following  are  some  of  the  particulars  concern- 
ing their  preparation ;  perhaps  there  are  others  which  the  author  has  not  learned : 
The  deer  which  is  to  furnish  the  skin  must  not  be  shot,  or  otherwise  wounded. 
It  is  surrounded  by  men  on  foot  or  horseback,  and  caused  to  run  around  until  it 
falls  exhausted ;  then  a  bag  containing  pollen  is  put  over  its  mouth  and  nostrils, 
and  held  there  till  the  deer  is  smothered.     The  dead  animal  is  laid  on  its  back. 
Lines  are  marked  with  pollen,  from  the  centre  outwards  along  the  median  line  of 
the  body  and  the  insides  of  the  limbs.     Incisions  are  made  with  a  stone  knife 
along  the  pollen  lines,  from  within  outwards,  until  the  skin  is  opened ;  the  flaying 
may  then  be  completed  with  a  steel  knife.     When  the  skin  is  removed  it  is  laid  to 
the  east  of  the  carcass,  head  to  the  east,  and  hairy  side  down.     The  fibulae  and 
ulnae  are  cut  out  and  put  in  the  skin  in  the  places  where  they  belong,  —  /.  *?.,  each 
ulna  in  the  skin  of  its  appropriate  fore-leg,  each  fibula  in  the  skin  of  its  appropri- 
ate hind-leg.     The  hide  may  then  be  rolled  up  and  carried  off.     Both  ulnae  are 
used  as  scrapers  of  the  skin.     If  masks  are  to  be  made  of  the  skin,  the  fibulae 
are  used  as  awls,  —  the  right  fibula  in  sewing  the  right  sides  of  the  masks,  the 
left  fibula  in  sewing  the  left  sides  of  the  masks.     Other  rules  (very  numerous)  for 
making  the  masks  will  not  be  mentioned  in  this  place.     Fibulae  and  ulnae  other 
than  those  belonging  to  the  deer  that  furnished  the  skin  must  not  be  used  on 
the  latter. 

14.  This  mask,  made  of  leaves  of  Yucca  baccata,  from  which  the  thick  dorsal  por- 
tions have  been  torn  away,  is  used  in  the  rite  of  the  night  chant.     The  observances 
connected  with  the  culling  of  the  leaves,  the  manufacture  of  the  mask,  and  the 
destruction  of  the   same  after  use,  are  too  numerous  to  be  detailed  here.     The 
author  never  succeeded  in  getting  such  a  mask  to  keep  (the  obligation  on  the 
shaman  to  tear  it  up  when  it  has  served  its  purpose  seemed  imperative),  but  he 


Notes. 


2I5 


was  allowed  to  take  two  photographs  of  it,  one  before  the  fringe  of  spruce  twigs 
was  applied,  the  other  when  the  mask  was  finished,  as  shown  in  fig.  26. 

15.  The  following  account  taken  from  "The  Prayer  of  a  Navajo  Shaman,"  815 
and  repeated  here  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Newell,  shows  how  definitely  fixed  was 
the  limit  of  this  part  of  the  tale  in  the  mind  of  the  narrator :  — 

"  In  none  of  my  interviews  with  him  (//a/a/i  Nez)  had  he  shown  any  impatience 
with  my  demands  for  explanations  as  we  progressed,  or  with  interruptions  in  our 
work.  He  lingered  long  over  his  meals,  lighted  many  cigarettes  and  smoked  them 
leisurely,  got  tired  early  in  the  evening,  and  was  always  willing  to  go  to  bed  as  early 
as  I  would  let  him.  When,  however,  he  came  to  relate  the  creation  myth,  all  this 
was  changed.  He  arrived  early;  he  remained  late;  he  hastened  through  his 
meals  ;  he  showed  evidence  of  worry  at  all  delays  and  interruptions,  and  frequently- 
begged  me  to  postpone  minor  explanations.  On  being  urged  to  explain  this  change 
of  spirit  he  said  that  we  were  travelling  in  the  land  of  the  dead,  in  a  place  of 
evil  and  potent  ghosts,  just  so  long  as  he  continued  to  relate  those  parts  of  the 
myth  which  recount  the  adventures  of  his  ancestors  in  the  nether  world,  and  that 
we  were  in  danger  so  long  as  our  minds  remained  there  ;  but  that  when  we  came 
to  that  part  of  the  tale  where  the  people  ascend  to  this  —  the  fifth  and  last 
world  — we  need  no  longer  feel  uneasy  and  could  then  take  our  time.  His  subse- 
quent actions  proved  that  he  had  given  an  honest  explanation. 

"It  was  near  sunset  one  afternoon,  and  an  hour  or  more  before  his  supper  time, 
that  he  concluded  his  account  of  the  subterranean  wanderings  of  the  Navajos  and 
brought  them  safely  through  the  "  Place  of  Emergence,"  in  the  San  Juan  Moun- 
ftains,  to  the  surface  of  this  world.  Then  he  ceased  to  speak,  rolled  a  cigarette, 
said  he  was  tired,  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  tell  me  any  more  that  night,  and 
left  me. 

u  After  his  departure  I  learned  that  he  had  announced  to  some  of  his  friends 
during  the  day  that  he  would  have  to  pray  at  night  to  counteract  the  evil  effects  of 
his  journey  through  the  lower  world.  After  his  supper  he  retired  to  the  apartment 
among  the  old  adobe  huts  at  Defiance  in  which  he  had  been  assigned  room  to 
sleep.  I  soon  followed,  and,  having  waited  in  the  adjoining  passage  half  an  hour 
or  more,  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  old  man  rising  in  the  monotonous  tones  of  formu- 
lated prayer.  Knowing  that  the  rules  of  the  shaman  forbade  the  interruption  of 
any  prayer  or  song,  I  abruptly  entered  the  room  and  sat  down  on  the  floor  near 
the  supplicant." 

(Thus  the  prayer  in  question  became  known  to  the  author.) 

150.  "  Tune  us  the  sitar  neither  low  nor  high."  —  The  Light  of  Asia. 

16.  Hzt&l,  in  Navaho,  means  a  sacred  song,  a  hymn  or  chant,  —  not  a  trivial 
song :  hence  the  names  of  their  great  ceremonies  contain  this  word,  as  dsi/yf  dse 
^a/a/  (the  mountain  chant) ;  kled^i  >£a/a7  (the  night  chant),  etc.     The  man  who 
conducts  a  ceremony  is  called  ^a/a/i  (chanter  or  singer).     As  equivalents  for  this 
word  the  author  uses  the  terms  shaman,  priest,  medicine-man,  and  chanter.     One 
who  treats  disease  by  drugs  is  called  aze-elfni,  or  medicine-maker. 

17.  No  antecedent.     We  are  first  told  to  whom  "  they  "  refers  in  paragraph  139. 

18.  In  symbolizing  by  color  the  four  cardinal  points,  the  Navahoes  have  two 
principal  systems,  as  follows  :  — 


East. 

South. 

West. 

North. 

First  System  .... 

White. 

Blue. 

Yellow. 

Black. 

Second  System  .    .     . 

Black. 

Blue. 

Yellow. 

White. 

216  Notes. 

Both  systems  are  the  same,  except  that  the  colors  black  and  white  change  places. 
The  reasons  for  this  change  have  not  been  satisfactorily  determined.  In  general, 
it  seems  that  when  speaking  of  places  over  ground  —  lucky  and  happy  places  — 
the  first  system  is  employed ;  while,  when  places  underground  —  usually  places  of 
danger  —  are  described,  the  second  system  is  used.  But  there  are  many  appar- 
ent exceptions  to  the  latter  rule.  In  one  version  of  the  Origin  Legend  (Version 
B)  the  colors  are  arranged  according  to  the  second  system  both  in  the  lower  and 
upper  worlds.  In  the  version  of  the  same  legend  here  published  the  first  system 
is  given  for  all  places  in  the  lower  worlds,  except  in  the  house  of  Tieholtsodi 
under  the  waters  (par.  178),  where  the  east  room  is  described  as  dark  and  the 
room  in  the  north  as  being  of  all  colors.  Yet  the  Indian  who  gave  this  version 
(//a/a/i  Nez),  in  his  Prayer  of  the  Rendition  (note  3 15),  applies  the  second  system 
to  all  regions  traversed  below  the  surface  of  the  earth  by  the  gods  who  come  to 
rescue  the  lost  soul.  Although  he  does  not  say  that  the  black  chamber  is  in  the 
east,  he  shows  it  corresponds  with  the  east  by  mentioning  it  first.  //a/a7i  Natldi, 
in  the  "  Story  of  Na^f nes/y^ani,"  follows  the  first  system  in  all  cases  except  when 
describing  the  house  of  Tidholtsodi  under  the  water,  where  the  first  chamber  is 
represented  as  black  and  the  last  as  white.  Although  in  this  case  the  rooms  may 
be  regarded  as  placed  one  above  another,  the  black  being  mentioned  first  shows 
that  it  is  intended  to  correspond  with  the  east.  In  all  cases,  in  naming  the  points 
of  the  compass,  or  anything  which  symbolizes  them,  or  in  placing  objects  which 
pertain  to  them  (note  227),  the  east  comes  first,  the  south  second,  the  west 
third,  the  north  fourth.  The  sunwise  circuit  is  always  followed.  If  the  zenith 
and  nadir  are  mentioned,  the  former  comes  fifth  and  the  latter  sixth  in  order. 
The  north  is  sometimes  symbolized  by  "  all  colors,"  i.  e.,  white,  blue,  yellow,  and 
black  mixed  (note  22),  and  sometimes  by  red.  In  the  myth  of  dsi/yfd^e  ^a/aV814 
(the  story  of  Dsi'/yi'  Neydni)  five  homes  of  holy  people  underground  are  described, 
in  all  of  which  the  second  system  is  used.  See,  also,  note  in,  where  the  second 
system  is  applied  to  the  house  of  the  sun.  In  the  story  of  the  "  Great  Shell  of 
Kintyel "  at  the  home  of  the  Spider  Woman  underground,  in  the  sky  world,  the 
east  is  represented  by  black  and  the  north  by  white.  (See  par.  581  and  note  40.) 

19.  There  are  but  three  streams  and  but  nine  villages  or  localities  mentioned, 
while  twelve  winged   tribes    are  named.     Probably  three  are  supposed  to  have 
lived  in  the  north  where  no  stream  ran,  or  there  may  have  been  a  fourth  river  in 
the  Navaho  paradise,  whose  name  is  for  some  reason  suppressed. 

References  to  the  sacred  number  four  are  introduced  with  tiresome  pertinacity 
into  all  Navaho  legends. 

20.  Version  B.— In  the  first  world  three  dwelt,  viz. :  First  Man,  First  Woman, 
and  Coyote. 

21.  The  swallow  to  which  reference  is  made  here  is  the  cliff  swallow,  —  Petro- 
chelidon  lunifrons. 

22.  The  colors  given  to  the  lower  worlds  in  this  legend  —  red  for  the  first,  blue 
for  the  second,  yellow  for  the  third,  and  mixed  for  the  fourth  —  are  not  in  the  line 
of  ordinary  Navaho  symbolism  (note  18),  but  they  agree  very  closely  with  some 
Moki   symbolism,  as   described  by  Victor  Mindeleff  in  his  "  Study  of   Pueblo 
Architecture,"  824  p.  129.     The  colors  there  mentioned,  if  placed  in  order  accord- 
ing to  the  Navaho  system  (note  1 8),  would  stand  thus:  red  (east),  blue  (south), 
yellow  (west),  white  (north).    Mixed  colors  sometimes  take  the  place  of  the  north 
or  last  in  Navaho  symbolism.     Possibly  Moki   elements  have   entered  into  this 
version  of  the  Navaho  legend.     (See  par.  91.) 

23.  Version  B.— In  the  second  world,   when   First   Man,    First  Woman,   and 
Coyote  ascended,  they  found  those  who  afterwards  carried  the  sun  and  moon,  and, 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  earth,  he  of  the  darkness  in  the  east,  he  of  the  blue- 


Notes. 


217 


ness  in  the  south,  he  of  the  yellowness  in  the  west,  and  he  of  the  whiteness  in  the 
north  (perhaps  the  same  as  White  Body,  Blue  Body,  etc.,  of  the  fourth  world  in 
the  present  version.  See  par.  160).  Sun  and  First  Woman  were  the  transgres- 
sors who  caused  the  exodus. 

24.  Version  B.—  When  the  five  individuals  mentioned  in  note  23  came  from  the 
second  world,  they  found  the  "  people  of  the  mountains  "  already  occupying  the 
third  world. 

25.  Version  B. — The  people  were  chased  from  the  third  world   to  the  fourth 
world  by  a  deluge  and  took  refuge  in  a  reed,  as  afterwards  related  of  the  flight 
from  the  fourth  world. 

26.  In  the  Navaho  tales,  when  the  ydi  (genii,  gods)  come  to  visit  men,  they 
always  announce  their  approach  by  calling  four  times.     The  first  call  is  faint,  far, 
and  scarcely  audible.     Each  succeeding  call  is  louder  and  more  distinct.     The 
last  call  sounds  loud  and  near,  and  in  a  moment  after  it  is  heard  the  god  makes 
his  appearance.     These  particulars  concerning  the  gods'  approach  are  occasion- 
ally briefly  referred  to ;  but  usually  the  story-teller  repeats  them  at  great  length 
with  a  modulated  voice,  and  he  pantomimically  represents  the  recipient  of  the 
visit,  starting  and  straining  his  attention  to  discern  the  distant  sounds. 

Nearly  every  god  has  his  own  special  call.  A  few  have  none.  Imperfect  at- 
tempts have  been  made  in  this  work  to  represent  some  of  these  calls  by  spelling 
them  ;  but  this  method  represents  the  original  no  better  than  "  Bob  White"  repre- 
sents the  call  of  a  quail.  Some  of  the  cries  have  been  recorded  by  the  writer 
on  phonographic  cylinders,  but  even  these  records  are  very  imperfect.  In  the 
ceremonies  of  the  Navahoes,  the  masked  representatives  of  the  gods  repeat 
these  calls.  The  calls  of  //astre'yaM  and  //asUe^o^an  are  those  most  frequently 
referred  to  in  the  tales.  (Pars.  287,  378,  471,  etc.) 

27.  Yellow  corn  belongs  to  the  female,  white  corn  to  the  male.     This  rule  is 
observed  in  all  Navaho  ceremonies,  and  is  mentioned  in  many  Navaho  myths. 
(Pars.  164,  291,  379;  note  107,  etc.) 

28.  An  ear  of  corn  used  for  sacred  purposes  must  be  completely  covered  with 
full  grains,  or  at  least  must  have  been  originally  so  covered.     One  having  abor- 
tive grains  at  the  top  is  not  used.     For  some  purposes,  as  in  preparing  the  imple- 
ments used  in  initiating  females  in  the  rite  of  kled^i  7za/aV,  not  only  must  the  ear 
of  corn  be  fully  covered  by  grains,  but  it  must  be  tipped  by  an   arrangement  of 
four  grains.     Such  an  ear  of  corn  is  called  /ohono/fni. 

29.  The  Navaho  word  ndtli  or  nu'tle  is  here  translated  hermaphrodite,  because 
the  context    shows  that  refereifbe   is   made  to   anomalous   creatures.     But  the 
word  is  usually  employed  to  designate  that  class  of  men,  known  perhaps  in  all  wild 
Indian  tribes,  who  dress  as  women,  and  perform   the   duties  usually   allotted  to 
women  in  Indian  camps.     Such  persons  are  called  berdaches  (English,  bardash) 
by  the  French  Canadians.     By  the   Americans   they  are   called   hermaphrodites 
(commonly  mispronounced  "  morphodites  "),  and   are  generally   supposed  to  be 
such. 

30.  These   so-called  hermaphrodites   (note  29)  are,  among   all    Indian  tribes 
that  the  author  has  observed,  more  skilful  in  performing  women's  work  than  the 
women  themselves.     The  Navahoes,  in  this  legend,  credit  them  with  the  inven- 
tion of  arts  practised  by  women.     The  best  weaver  in  the  Navaho  tribe,  for  many 
years,  was  a  natli. 

31.  Masks  made  from  the  skins  of  deer-heads  and  antelope-heads,  with  or  with- 
out antlers,  have  been  used  by  various  Indian  tribes,  in  hunting,  to  deceive  the 
animals  and  allow  the  hunters  to  approach  them.     There  are  several   references 
to  such  masks  in  the  Navaho  tales,  as  in  the  story  of  Na/i'nesMani  (par.  544)  and 
in  the  myth  of  "  The  Mountain  Chant,"  page  39 1.314     In  the  latter  story,  rites 
connected  with  the  deer  mask  are  described. 


2 1 8  Notes. 

32.  The  quarrel  between  First  Man  and  First  Woman  came  to  pass  in  this 
way  :  When  she  had  finished  her  meal  she  wiped  her  hands  in  her  dress  and  said : 
"E'ydhe  si-tsod"  (Thanks,  my  vagina).  "What  is  that  you  say?"  asked  First 
Man.  "  E'ye'he  si-tsod"  she  repeated.  "  Why  do  you  speak  thus  ?  "  he  queried ; 
"  Was  it  not  I  who  killed  the  deer  whose  flesh  you  have  eaten  ?  Why  do  you 
not  thank  me  ?  Was  it  tsod  that  killed  the  deer  ?  "  "  Yes,"  she  replied ;  "  if  it 
were  not  for  that,  you  would  not  have  killed  the  deer.  If  it  were  not  for  that,  you 
lazy  men  would  do  nothing.  It  is  that  which  does  all  the  work."  "  Then,  per- 
haps, you  women  think  you  can  live  without  the  men,"  he  said.  "  Certainly  we 
can.  It  is  we  women  who  till  the  fields  and  gather  food  :  we  can  live  on  the 
produce  of  our  fields,  and  the  seeds  and  fruits  we  collect.  We  have  no  need  of 
you  men."  Thus  they  argued.  First  Man  became  more  and  more  angry  with 
each  reply  that  his  wife  made,  until  at  length,  in  wrath,  he  jumped  across  the  fire. 
.  33.  During  the  separation  of  the  sexes,  both  the  men  and  the  women  were 
guilty  of  shameful  practices,  which  the  story-tellers  very  particularly  describe. 
Through  the  transgressions  of  the  women  the  andye,  alien  gods  or  monsters,  who 
afterwards  nearly  annihilated  the  human  race,  came  into  existence ;  but  no  evil 
consequences  followed  the  transgressions  of  the  men.  Thus,  as  usual,  a  moral 
lesson  is  conveyed  to  the  women,  but  none  to  the  men. 

34,  35.  Notes  34  and  35  are  omitted. 

36.  Version  A.  —  Water  in  the  east,  black  ;  south,  blue  ;  west,  yellow ;  north, 
white.     In  the  ceremony  of  /ioz6m  ha.t£l  a  picture  representing  Tie'holtsodi  and 
the  four  waters  is  said  to  be  made. 

37.  Version  A  says  that  the  nodes  were  woven  by  the  spider,  and  that  different 
animals  dwelt  in  the  different  internodes.     Version  B  says  that  the  great  reed 
took  more  than  one  day  to  grow  to  the  sky ;  that  it  grew  by  day  and  rested  by 
night ;  that  the  hollow  internodes  now  seen  in  the  reed  show  where  it  grew  by 
day,  and  the  solid  nodes  show  where  it  rested  by  night.     Some  say  four  reeds 
were  planted  to  form  one,  others  that  one  reed  only  was  planted. 

38.  Version  B.  —  The  Turkey  was  the  last  to  take  refuge  in  the  reed,  therefore 
he  was  at  the  bottom.     When  the  waters  rose  high  enough  to  wet  the  Turkey  he 
gobbled,  and  all  knew  that  danger  was  near.     Often  did  the  waves  wash  the  end 
of  his  tail ;  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  the  tips  of  turkeys'  tail-feathers  are,  to 
this  day,  lighter  than  the  rest  of  the  plumage. 

39.  Version  A.  —  First  Man  and  First  Woman  called  on  all  the  digging  animals 
(I'ndatridi  d&ltso)  to  help.     These  were :  Bear,  Wolf,  Coyote,  Lynx,  and  Badger. 
First,  Bear  dug  till  he  was  tired ;  then  Coyote  tc^>k  his  place,  and  so  on.     When 
badger  was  digging,  water  began  to  drip  down  from  above  :  then  they  knew  they 
had  struck  the  waters  of  the  upper  world,  and  sent  Locust  up.    Locust  made  a  sort 
of  shaft  in  the  soft  mud,  such  as  locusts  make  to  this  day. 

40.  Version  A  says  there  were  four  cranes  ;   Version  B,  that  there  were  four 
swans.     Both  versions  say  that  the  bird  of  the  east  was  black,  that  of  the  south 
blue,  that  of  the  west  yellow,  and  that  of  the  north  white.     (See  note  18.) 

41.  Two  versions,  A  and  B,  have  it  that  the  bird  passed  the  arrows  through 
from  mouth  to  vent,  and  vice  versa,  but  all  make   the  Locust  pass  his  arrows 
through  his  thorax.     Another  version  relates  that  two  of  the  birds  said  :  "  You  can 
have  the  land  if  you  let  us  strike  you  in  the  forehead  with  an  axe."     Locust  con- 
sented.    They  missed  their  aim  and  cut  off  his  cheeks,  which  accounts  for  his 
narrow  face  now.     Version  A  relates  that  the  arrows  were  plumed  with  eagle- 
feathers. 

42.  Version  A.  —  The  Locust,  before  transfixing  himself  with  the  arrows,  shoved 
his  vitals  down  into  his  abdomen ;  then  he  changed  his  mind  and  shoved  them 
high  into  his  chest.     That  accounts  for  his  big  chest  now. 


Notes.  2 1 9 

43.  A  small  lake  situated  somewhere  in  the  San  Juan  Mountains  is  said  to  be 
the  place  through  which  the  people  came  from  the  fourth  world  to  this  world.     It 
is  surrounded,  the  Indians  tell,  by  precipitous  cliffs,  and  has  a  small  island  near  its 
centre,  from  the  top  of  which  something  rises  that  looks  like  the  top  of  a  ladder. 
Beyond  the  bounding  cliffs  there  are  four  mountain  peaks,  —  one  to  the  east,  one  to 
the  south,  one  to  the  west,  and  one  to  the  north  of  the  lake,  —  which  are  frequently 
referred  to  in  the  songs  and  myths  of  the  Navahoes.     These  Indians  fear  to  visit 
the  shores  of  this  lake,  but  they  climb  the  surrounding  mountains  and  view  its 
waters  from  a  distance.    The  place  is  called  /fa-dsi-naf,  or  Ni-^o-yos-trd-tre,  which 
names  may  be  freely  translated  Place  of  Emergence,  or  Land  Where  They  Came 
Up.     The  San  Juan  Mountains  abound  in  little  lakes.     Which  one  of  these  is  con- 
sidered by  the  Navahoes  as  their  Place  of  Emergence  is  not  known,  and  it  is 
probable  that  it  could  only  be  determined  by  making  a  pilgrimage  thither  with  a 
party  of  Navahoes  who  knew  the  place.     Mr.  Whitman  Cross,  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey,  who  has  made  extensive  explorations  in  the  San  Juan  Moun- 
tains, relates  that  Trout  Lake  is  regarded  by  the  Indians  as  a  sacred  lake ;  that  they 
will  not  camp  near  it,  and  call  it  a  name  which  is  rendered  Spirit  Lake.   This  sheet 
of  water  is  designated  as  San  Miguel  Lake  on  the  maps  of  Hayden's  Survey.     It 
lies  near  the  line  of  the  Rio  Grande  Southern  Railroad,  at  the  head  of  the  South 
Fork  of  San  Miguel  River.     It  has  no  island.     A  small  lake,  which  accords  more 
in  appearance  with  the  Navahoes'  description  of  their  sacred  lake,  is  Island  Lake. 
This  has  a  small,  rocky  island  in  the  middle.     It  is  situated  on  a  branch  of  the 
South  Fork  of  Mineral  Creek,  three  miles  southeast  of  Ophir,  Colorado,  at  an 
altitude  of  12,450  feet.     Prof.  A.  H.  Thompson  has  suggested  that  Silver  Lake, 
about  five  miles  southeasterly  from    Silverton,  Colorado,  may  be  the  Place  of 
Emergence.     This  lake  is  11,600  feet  above  sea-level,  and  is  surrounded  by  four 
high  mountain  peaks,  but  it  has  no  island. 

44.  Version  A.  —  Ga^askT^i  struck  the  cliffs  with  his  wand.     "  Gong  e'  "  it 
sounded,  and  broke  the  cliffs  open.     Version  B.  —  He  of  the  darkness  of  the  east 
cut  the  cliffs  with  his  knife  shaped  like  a  horn. 

45.  Version  A.  —  They  prayed  to  the  four  Winds,  —  the  black  Wind  of  the  east, 
the  blue  Wind  of  the  south,  the  yellow  Wind  of  the  west,  and  the  white  Wind  of  the 
north,  —  and  they  sang  a  wind-song  which  is  still  sung    in  the  rite  of  hoz6m 
^a/a7.     Version  B.  —  They  prayed  to  the  four  Winds. 

46.  The  Kisani,  being  builders  of  stone  houses,  set  up  a  stone  wall ;  the  others, 
representing  the  Navahoes,  set  up  a  shelter  of  brushwood,  as  is  the  custom  of  the 
Navahoes  now. 

47.  Tsi-^/iV,  or  tsnWiV  is  a  game  played  by  the  Navaho  women.     The  principal 
implements  of  the  game  are  three  sticks,  which  are  thrown  violently,  ends  down,  on 
a  flat  stone,  around  which  the  gamblers  sit.     The  sticks  rebound  so  well  that  they 
would  fly  far  away,  were  not  a  blanket  stretched  overhead  to  throw  them  back  to 
the  players.     A  number  of  small  stones,  placed  in  the  form  of  a  square,  are  used 
as  counters  ;  these  are  not  moved,  but  sticks,  whose  positions  are  changed  accord- 
ing to  the  fortunes  of  the  game,  are  placed  between  them.     The  rules  of  the  game 
have  not  been  recorded.     The  other  games  were  :  ^/ilko^,  played  with  two  sticks, 
each  the  length  of  an  arm ;   atsa",  played  with  forked  sticks  and  a  ring ;   and 
a-rpi'n. 

48.  Version  A.  —  Coyote  and  Ifa.sts6zim  were  partners  in  the  theft  of  the  young 
of  Tieholtsodi.     When  Coyote  saw  the  water  rising,  he  pointed  with  his  protruded 
lips  (as  Indians  often  do)  to  the  water,  and  glanced  significantly  at  his  accom- 
plice.    First  Man  observed  the  glance,  had  his  suspicions  aroused,  and  began  to 
search. 

49.  Other  variants  of  the  story  of  the  restoration  of  Tie'holtsodi's  young  speak 


220  Notes. 

of  sacrifices  and  peace  offerings  in  keeping  with  the  Indian  custom.  Version 
A.  —  They  got  a  haliotis  shell  of  enormous  size,  so  large  that  a  man's  encircling 
arm  could  barely  surround  it.  Into  this  they  put  other  shells  and  many  precious 
stones.  They  sprinkled  pollen  on  the  young  and  took  some  of  it  off  again,  for  it 
had  been  rendered  more  holy  by  contact  with  the  bodies  of  the  young  sea 
monsters.  Then  they  put  these  also  into  the  shell  and  laid  all  on  the  horQS-QL 
Tidholtsodi ;  at  once  he  disappeared  under  the  earth  and  the  waters  went  down 
after  him.  The  pollen  taken  from  the  young  was  distributed  among  the  people, 
and  brought  them  rain  and  game  and  much  good  fortune.  Version  B.  — "  At 
once  they  threw  them  (the  young)  down  to  their  father,  and  with  them  a  sacrifice 
of  the  treasures  of  the  sea,  —  their  shell  ornaments.  In  an  instant  the  waters  began 
to  rush  down  through  the  hole  and  away  from  the  lower  worlds." 

50.  Some  give  the  name  of  the  hermaphrodite  who  died  as  NatliyilMtre,  and 
say  that  "  she  "  is  now  the  chief  of  devils  in  the  lower  world,  —  perhaps  the  same 
as  the  Woman  Chief  referred  to  in  the  "  Prayer  of  a  Navaho  Shaman."  315    Version 
B  says  that  the  first  to  die  was  the  wife  of  a  great  chief.     (See  note  68.) 

51.  Version  A  describes  the  making  of  the  sacred  mountains  thus  :  Soon  after 
the  arrival  of  the  people  in  the  fifth  world  (after  the  first  sudatory  had  been  built 
and  the  first  corn  planted),  some  one  said:  "  It  would  be  well  if  we  had  in  this 
world  such  mpuntains  as  we  had  in  the  world  below."     "  I  have  brought  them 
with  me,"  said  First  Man.     He  did  not  mean  to  say  he  had  brought  the  whole  of 
the  mountains  with  him,  but  only  a  little  earth  from  each,  with  which  to  start  new 
mountains  here.     The  people  laid  down  four  sacred  buckskins 18  and  two  sacred 
baskets  5  for  him  to  make  his  mountains  on,  for  there  were  six  sacred  mountains 
in  the  lower  world,  just  as  there  are  six  in  this,  and  they  were  named  the  same 
there  as  they  now  are  here.     The  mountain  in  the  east,  Tslsnadsi'ni,  he  made  of 
clay  from  the  mountain  of  the  east  below,  mixed  with  white  shell.     The  mountain 
of  the  south,  Tsdtst/,  he  made  of  earth  from  below  mixed  with  turquoise.     The 
mountain  of  the  west  he  made  of  earth  mixed  with  haliotis  or  abalone  shell.     The 
mountain  of  the  north  he  made  of  earth  mixed  with  cannel  coal.158    DsI/ndo/T/  he 
made  of  earth  from  the  similar  mountain  in  the  lower  world,  mixed  with  goods  of 
all  kinds  (yuWi  al//zasaf).     Tjolihi  he  made  of  earth  from  below,  mixed  with  shells 
and  precious  stones  of  all  kinds  (mkll'z  al/7/asai).     While  they  were  still  on  the 
buckskins  and  baskets,  ten  songs  were  sung  which  now  belong  to  the  rites  of 
JiQz6m  hz.t£l.     The  burdens  of  these  songs  are  as  follows :  — 

1st.     Long  ago  he  thought  of  it. 

2d.      Long  ago  he  spoke  of  it. 

3d.      A  chief  among  mountains  he  brought  up  with  him. 

4th.     A  chief  among  mountains  he  has  made. 

5th.     A  chief  among  mountains  is  rising. 

6th.     A  chief  among  mountains  is  beginning  to  stand. 

7th.     A  chief  among  mountains  stands  up. 

8th.     A  cigarette  for  a  chief  among  mountains  we  make. 

9th.     A  chief  among  mountains  smokes, 
loth.     A  chief  among  mountains  is  satisfied. 

When  the  people  came  up  from  the  lower  world  they  were  under  twelve  chiefs,  but 
only  six  of  them  joined  in  the  singing  these  songs,  and  to-day  six  men  sing  them. 
When  the  mountains  were  made,  the  god  of  each  of  the  four  quarters  of  the 
world  carried  one  away  and  placed  it  where  it  now  stands.  The  other  two  were 
left  in  the  middle  of  the  world  and  are  there  still.  A  pair  of  gods  were  then  put  to 
live  in  each  mountain,  as  follows :  East,  Dawn  Boy  and  Dawn  Girl,  called  also 
White  Shell  Boy  and  White  Shell  Girl ;  south,  Turquoise  Boy  and  Turquoise 
Girl;  west,  Twilight  Boy  and  Haliotis  Girl;  north,  Darkness  (or  Cannel  Coal) 


Notes.  221 

Boy  and  Darkness  Girl :  at  DsT/n^o/i/,  All-goods  (Yu^i-al/^asai)  Boy  and  All- 
goods  Girl;  at  T^olihi,  All-jewels  (Inkli'z-alMasai)  Boy  and  All-jewels  Girl. 

Version  B  speaks  of  the  making  of  only  four  mountains,  and  very  briefly  of 
this. 

52.  TsTs-na-dsi'n-i  is  the  name  of  the  sacred  mountain  which  the  Navahoes 
regard  as  bounding  their  country  on  the  east.     It  probably  means  Dark  Horizon- 
tal Belt.     The  mountain  is  somewhere  near  the  pueblo  of  Jemez,  in  Bernalillo 
County,  New  Mexico.     It  is  probably  Pelado  Peak,  11,260  feet  high,  20  miles  N. 
N.  E.  of  the  pueblo.     White  shell  and  various  other  objects  of  white  —  the  color 
of  the  east  —  belong  to  the  mountain. 

53.  Tse'-ga-^i-na-/i-ni  A-ji-ke'  (Rock  Crystal  Boy)  and  Tse'-ga"-^-na-tf-ni  A-/eV 
(Rock  Crystal  Girl)  are  the  deities  of  Tsisnad^i'ni.     They  were  brought  up  from 
the  lower  world  as  small  images  of  stone ;  but  as  soon  as  they  were  put  in  the 
mountain  they  came  to  life. 

54.  Tso-tsf/,  or  Tso'-dsi/,  from  tso,  great,  and  dsi/,  a  mountain,  is  the  Navaho 
name  of  a  peak  11,389  feet  high  in  Valencia  County,  New  Mexico.     Its  summit  is 
over  twelve  miles  distant,  in  a  direct  line,  east  by  north,  from  McCarty's  Station  on 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad.     It  is  called  by  the  Mexicans  San  Mateo,  and 
was  on  September  18,  1849,  named  Mt.  Taylor,  "in  honor  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,"  by  Lieut.  J.  H.  Simpson,  U.  S.  Army.328     On  the  maps  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  the  whole  mountain  mass  is  marked"  San  Mateo 
Mountains,1'  and  the   name  "  Mount  Taylor  "  is  reserved  for  the  highest  peak. 
This  is  one  of  the  sacred  mountains  of  the  Navahoes,  and  is  regarded  by  them  as 
bounding  their  country  on  the  south,  although  at  the  present  day  some  of  the 
tribe  live  south  of  the  mountain.     They  say  that  San  Mateo  is  the  mountain  of 
the  south  and  San  Francisco  is  the  mountain  of  the  west,  yet  the  two  peaks  are 
nearly  in  the  same  latitude.    One  version  of  the  Origin  Legend  (Version  B)  makes 
San  Mateo  the  mountain  of  the  east,  but  all  other  versions  differ  from  this.     Blue 
being  the  color  of  the  south,  turquoise  and   other  blue  things,  as  named   in  the 
myth,  belong  to  this  mountain.      As  blue  also  symbolizes  the  female,  she-rain  be- 
longs to  San  Mateo.     Plate  III.  is  from  a  photograph  taken  somewhere  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Chavez  Station,  about  thirty-five  miles  in  a  westerly  direction 
from  the  summit  of  the  mountain. 

55.  Dot-\\'-z\  L£-\  Na-yo-aVi  A-ji-ke',  Boy  Who  Carries  One  Torquoise ;  Na-/£ 
Za-i  Na-yo-a-/i  A/eV,  Girl  Who  Carries  One  (Grain  of)  Corn. 

56.  Z>o-kos-liV or  Z>o-ko-os-liW,  is  the  Navaho  name  of  San  Francisco  Moun- 
tain, one  of  the  most  prominent  landmarks  in  Arizona.     The  summit  of  this  peak 
is  distant  in  a  direct  line  about  twelve  miles  nearly  north   from  the  town  of  Flag- 
staff, on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad,   in  Yavapai    County,    Arizona.     The 
precise  meaning  of  the  Indian  name  has  not  been  ascertained,  but  the  name  seems 
to  contain,  modified,  the  words  /o'  and  kos,  the  former  meaning  water  and  the 
latter  cloud.     It  is  the  sacred  mountain  of  the  Navahoes,  which  they  regard   as 
bounding  their  land  on  the  west.     The  color  of  the  west,  yellow,  and  the  various 
things,  mostly  yellow,  which  symbolize  the  west,  as  mentioned  in   the  myth,  are 
sacred  to  it.     Haliotis  shell,  although  highly  iridescent,  is  regarded  by  the  Nava- 
hoes as  yellow,  and  hence  is  the  shell  sacred  to  the  mountain.     In  Navaho  sacred 
songs,  the  peak  is  called,  figuratively,  The  Wand  of  Haliotis.    Plate  II.  is  from  a 
photograph  taken  on  the  south  side  of  the  mountain,  at  a  point  close  to  the  rail- 
road, two  or  three  miles  east  of  Flagstaff. 

57.  The  name    Na-/a7-kai    A-.n-ke'   (White   Corn   Boy)  is  from   na/d«  (corn), 
/a£ai  (white),  and  a^ikd  or  frke  (boy).     The  name  Na/a/tsoi  A/eY  (Yellow  Corn 
Girl),  comes  from  na/a«  (corn),  /itsdi  (yellow),  and  a/eV  (girl).     In  paragraph  291 
mention  is  made  of  the  creation  of  a  White  Corn  Boy  and  a  Yellow  Corn  Girl. 


222  Notes. 

It  is  not  certain  whether  these  are  the  same  as  the  deities  of  Z?okoshX  but  it  is 
probable  the  Navahoes  believe  in  more  than  one  divine  pair  with  these  names. 

58.  Z>epe'ntsa,  the  Navaho  name  for  the  San  Juan  Mountains  in  southwestern 
Colorado,  is  derived  from  two  words, — afepe'  (the  Rocky  Mountain   sheep)    and 
intsa"  (scattered  all  over,  widely  distributed).     These  mountains  are  said  to  bound 
the  Navaho  land  on  the  north.     Somewhere  among  them  lies  Ni^oyostydtre,  the 
Place  of  Emergence  (note  43).     Black  being  the  color  of  the  north,  various  black 
things,  such  as  pds^mi  (cannel  coal),158  blackbirds,  etc.,  belong  to  these  moun- 
tains.    There  are  many  peaks  in  this  range  from  10,000  to  14,000  feet  high. 

59.  Thz.-di-t\n  A-si-k£  (Pollen  Boy),  A-nil-/a"-ni  A-/eV  (Grasshopper  Girl).     In 
paragraphs  290,  291,  these  are   referred  to  again.     In   a  dry-painting   of   kl£dzi 
fat&l,  Grasshopper  Girl  is  depicted  in  corn  pollen. 

60.  Dsl/-na"-o-/if/  seems  to  mean  a  mountain  encircled  with  blood,  but  the  Nava- 
hoes declare  that  such  is  not  the  meaning.     They  say  it  means  the  mountain  that 
has  been  encircled  by  people  travelling  around  it,  and  that,  when  Estsdnatlehi  and 
her  people  lived  there  they  moved  their  camp  to  various  places  around  the  base 
of  the  mountain.     Of  course  this  is  all  mythical.     Had  the  author  ever  seen  this 
mountain,  he  might  conjecture  the  significance  of  the  name  ;  but  he  does  not  even 
know  its  location.     The  name  of  the  Carrizo  Mountains,  Dsif/ndodst/,  meaning 
Mountain  Surrounded  with  Mountains,  is  nearly  the  same;  but  when  the  writer 
visited  the  Carrizo  Mountains  in  1892  he  was  assured  by  the  Indians  that  the  sacred 
hill  was  not  there.    Dsl/ndo/i/  is  rendered  in  this  work  Encircled  Mountain,  which 
is  only  an  approximate  translation.     It  is  altogether  a  matter  of  conjecture  why 
goods  of  all  kinds  —  yudi  aWzasaf  (see  note  61)  — are  thought  to  belong  to  this 
mountain. 

61.  Yu-dfi  Nai-dl-jf^-i  A-ji-ke',  Boy  who  Produces  Goods,  or  causes  the  increase 
of  goods ;  Yu-di  Nai-dUrf' s-i  A-/eV  (Girl  Who  Produces  Goods).    Yddi  or  yudi  is 
here  translated   "goods."     It  originally  referred  to  furs,  skins,   textile  fabrics, 
and  such  things  as  Indians  bartered  among  themselves,  except  food  and  jewels. 
The  term  is  now  applied  to  nearly  all  the  merchandise  to  be  found  in  a  trader's 
store. 

62.  Tjo-li-hi,  or  T^o-li«-i,  is  one  of  the  seven  sacred  mountains  of  the  Navaho 
country.     Its  location  has  not  been  determined,  neither  has  the  meaning  of  its 
name.     Perhaps  the  name  is  derived  from  tsx5,  the   spruce   (Pseudotsuga  taxi- 
folia).     We  can  only  conjecture  what  relation  the  mountain  may  have  to  jewels. 

63.  Tjo-s'-gaVi,  a  large  yellow  bird,  species  undetermined. 

64.  tn-klfz  Nai-di-^'j-i  A-.ri-ke'  (Boy  Who  Produces   Jewels)  ;  In-kli'z    Nai-dl- 
si's-i  Kt€t  (Girl  who  Produces  Jewels).     Inkll'z  means  something  hard  and  brittle. 
It  is  here  translated  "  jewels  "  for  want  of  a  better  term.     It  is  not  usually  applied 
to  finished  jewels,  but  to  the  materials  out  of  which  the  Navaho  jewels  are  made, 
such  as  shells,  turquoise  in  the  rough,  cannel  coal,  and  other  stones,  many  of  which 
are  of  little  value  to  us,  but  are  considered  precious  by  the  Navahoes. 

65.  A-ki-^a-nas-#L-ni,    signifying     One-round-thing-sitting-on-top-of-another,    is 
the  Navaho  name  of  an  eminence  called  on  our  maps  Hosta  Butte,  which  is  situ- 
ated in  Bernalillo  County,  New  Mexico,  14  miles  N.  N.  E.  of  Chavez  Station   on 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad.     This  butte  or  mesa  has  an  altitude  of  8,837 
feet.     Being  surrounded  by  hills  much  lower,  it  is  a  prominent  landmark. 

66.  Tse'-/za-rtTa-^o-ni-ge,  or  mirage-stone,  is  so  called  because  it  is  thought  in 
some  way  to  look  like  a  mirage.     The  writer  has  seen  pieces  of  this  in  the  pollen 
bags  of  the  medicine-men,  but  never  could  procure  a  piece  of  it.     They  offered  to 
exchange  for  another  piece,  but  would  not  sell.     A  stone  (Chinese  idol)  which  they 
pronounced  similar  was  analyzed  by  the  chemists  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  in  Washington,  and  found  to   be   silicate  of  magnesia,  probably  pyro- 


Notes.  223 

phyllite.  Such,  perhaps,  is  the  mirage-stone.  The  author  offered  the  Chinese 
idol  to  one  of  the  shamans  in  exchange  for  his  mirage-stone ;  but,  having  heard 
that  the  stone  image  represented  a  Chinese  god,  the  shaman  feared  to  make  the 
trade. 

67.  7o'-/a-nas-tri  is  a  mixture  of  all  kinds  of  water,  /.  e.,  spring  water,  snow 
water,  hail  water,  and  water  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  world.     Such  water 
7\5'nenili  is  supposed  to  have  carried  in  his  jars.     Water  used  to-day  in  some  of 
the  Navaho  rites  approximates  this  mixture  as  closely  as  possible. 

68.  The  subject  of  the  dead  belonging  to  the  Sun  and  the  Moon  is  explained  at 
length  in  the  version  of    Ndltsos  Nigdhani  (Version  B)  thus :  "  On  the  fifth  day 
(after  the  people  came  up  to  the  surface  of  this  world)  the  sun  climbed  as  usual 
to  the  zenith  and  (then)  stopped.     The  day  grew  hot  and  all  longed  for  the  night 
to  come,  but  the  sun  moved  not.     Then  the  wise  Coyote  said :  *  The  sun  stops 
because  he  has  not  been  paid  for  his  work ;  he  demands  a  human  life  for  every 
day  that  he  labors ;  he  will  not   move   again  till  some   one   dies.'     At  length  a 
woman,  the  wife  of  a  great  chief,  ceased  to  breathe  and  grew  cold,  and  while  they 
all  drew  around  in  wonder,  the  sun  was  observed  to  move  again,  and  he  travelled 
down  the  sky  and  passed   behind   the    western   mountains.  .  .  .  That   night '  the 
moon  stopped  in  the  zenith,  as  the  sun  had  done  during  the  day ;  and  the  Coyote 
told  the  people  that  the  moon  also  demanded  pay  and  would  not  move  until  it 
was  given.     He  had  scarcely  spoken  when  the  man  who  had  seen  the  departed 
woman  in  the  nether  world  died,  and  the  moon,  satisfied,  journeyed  to  the  west. 
Thus  it  is  that  some  one  must  die  every  night,  or  the  moon  would  not  move  across 
the  sky.     But  the  separation  of  the  tribes   occurred  immediately  after  this,  and 
now  the  moon  takes  his  pay  from  among  the  alien  races,  while  the  sun  demands 
the  life  of  a  Navaho  as  his  fee  for  passing  every  day  over  the  earth." 

69.  Many  of  the  Indians  tell  that  the  world  was  originally  small  and  was  in- 
creased in  size.     The  following  is  the  version  of  Ndltsos  Nigehani  (B)  :  "  The 
mountains  that  bounded  the  world  were  not  so  far  apart  then  as  they  are  now  ; 
hence  the  world  was  smaller,  and  when  the  sun  went  over  the   earth  he  came 
nearer  to  the  surface  than  he  does  now.     So  the  first  day  the  sun  went   on  his 
journey  it  was  intolerably  hot ;  the  people  were  almost  burned  to  death,  and  they 
prayed  to  the  four  winds  that  each  one  would  pull  his  mountain  away  from  the 
centre  of  the  earth,  and  thus  widen  the  borders  of  the  world.     It  was  done  as  they 
desired,  and  the  seas  that  bounded  the  land  receded  before  the  mountains.     But 
on  the  second  day,  although  the  weather  was  milder,  it  was  still  too  hot,  and  again 
were  the  mountains  and  seas  removed.     All  this  occurred  again  on  the  third  day ; 
but  on  the  fourth  day  they  found  the  weather  pleasant,  and  they  prayed  no  more 
for  the  earth  to  be  changed." 

70.  The   story  of  the  making  of  the   stars  is   told   in   essentially  the   same 
way  by  many  story-tellers.     It   is   surprising   that  //a/a/i    Nez   totally  omitted 
it.     The  following  is  the  tale  as  told  by  Naltsos  Nigdhani :  "  Now  First  Man 
and  First  Woman  thought  it  would  be  better  if  the  sky  had  more  lights,  for 
there  were  times  when  the   moon   did   not  shine   at  night.     So  they  gathered 
a  number  of  fragments  of  sparkling  mica  of  which  to  make  stars,  and    First 
Man  proceeded  to  lay  out  a  plan  of  the  heavens,  on  the  ground.     He  put  a 
little  fragment   in  the   north,   where  he   wished   to    have   the   star  that  would 
never  move,   and  he  placed  near   it  seven  great  pieces,  which  are  the  seven 
stars  we  behold  in  the  north  now.     He  put  a  great  bright  one  in  the  south,   an- 
other in  the  east,  and  a  third  in  the  west,  and  then  went  on  to  plan  various  con- 
stellations, when  along  came  Coyote,  who,  seeing  that  three  pieces  were  red, 
exclaimed,  '  These  shall  be  my  stairs^  and  I  will  place  them  where  I  think  best ; ' 
so  he  put  them  in  situations  corresponding  to  places  that  three  great  red  stars 


224  Notes. 

now  occupy  among  the  celestial  lights.  Before  First  Man  got  through  with  his 
work,  Coyote  became  impatient,  and,  saying,  «  Oh  !  they  will  do  as  they  are,'  he 
hastily  fathered  the  fragments  of  mica,  threw  them  upwards,  and  blew  a  strong 
breath  after  them.  Instantly  they  stuck  to  the  sky.  Those  to  which  locations 
had  been  assigned  adhered  in  their  proper  places  ;  but  the  others  were  scattered 
at  random  and  in  formless  clusters  over  the  firmament."  See  "A  Part  of  the 
Navajo's  Mythology,"  pp.  7,  8.306 

71.  The  following  are  some  of  the  destroyers  who  sprang  from  this  b] 
Tse'nagdhi,  Travelling  Stone. 

Great  Wood  That  Bites. 


BTUd^iyeada'a'i, 

Sdwfrdso/,  Old  Age  Lying  Down. 

Tse'tla/&6Wr/yT/,  Black  Under  Cliffs. 

Tse'tla/zdrfo/li'z,  Blue  Under  Cliffs. 

Tsd'tla^a/tso,  Yellow  Under  Cliffs. 

Tsd'tlaAa/kai,  White  Under  Cliffs. 

Tse'tla/Mitsos,  Sparkling  Under  Cliffs. 

T.ra^ida/£al/a7i,  Devouring  Antelope. 

Yeitso/apahi,  Brown  Yeitso. 

Zokdadikfri,  Slashing  Reeds. 

"  You  see  colors  under  the  rocks,  at  the  bottoms  of  the  cliffs,  and  when  you 
approach  them  some  invisible  enemy  kills  you.  These  are  the  same  as  the  Tse'- 
tlayal/f,  or  Those  Who  Talk  Under  the  Cliffs."  Thus  said  Ha/a7i  Nez  when 
questioned. 

72.  Kmtye'l  or  Kmtye'li.  —  This  name  (from  kin,  a  stone  or  adobe  house,  a  pueblo 
house,  and  tyel,  broad)  means  simply  Broad  Pueblo,  —  one  covering  much  ground. 
It  is  applied  to  at  least  two  ruined  pueblos  in  the  Navaho  country.     One  of  these 
—  the  Pueblo  Grande  of  the  Mexicans,  situated  "  twenty-two  or  twenty-three  miles 
north  of   Navaho  Springs,"  a  station  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad,  in 
Arizona  —  is  well  described  and  depicted  by  Mr.  Victor  Mindeleff  in  his  "  Study  of 
Pueblo  Architecture."  825     The  other  —  the  Kmtye'l  to  which  reference  is  made  in 
this  story  —  is  in  the  Chaco  Canyon,  in  New  Mexico.     With  its  name  spelled 
"  Kintail,"  and  rendered  "  the  Navajo  name  for  ruin,"  it  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  F. 
T.  Bickford,293  and  one  of  his  pictures,  probably  representing  KTntye'l,  is  here  re- 
produced  (fig.  36).     In  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  April-June,  1889, 
the  author  says  :  "  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  this  pueblo  is  identical  with  that 
seen  and  described  in  1849  by  Lieut.  J.  H.  Simpson,  U.  S.  A.,  under  the  name  of 
Pueblo  Chettro  Kettle." 

73.  The  name  //as-tf&yal-ri,  spelled  according  to  the  alphabet  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology  "  Qastce'yalc.i  "  may  be  translated  Talking  God,  or  Talking  Elder  of 
the  Gods,     //astydyal/i  is  otherwise  called  Ydbttrai,  or  the  Maternal  Grandfather 
of  the  Gods.     He  is  a  chief  or  leader  among  several  groups  of  local  divinities  who 
are  said  to  dwell  at  Kminae'kai,  in  the  Chelly  Canyon,  at  Tse'niUe,  Tsd'hihi,  and  at 
various  other  sacred  places.     Although  called  a  talking  god,  the  man  who  per- 
sonates him  in   the  rites  never  speaks  while  in  character,  but  utters  a  peculiar 
whoop  and  makes  signs.     In  the  myths,  however,  the  god  is  represented  as  speak- 
ing, usually  after  he  has  whooped  and  made  signs.    (Par.  472.)    He  is  a  beneficent 
character,  always  ready  to  help  man  and  rescue  him  from  peril.     He  is  sometimes 
spoken  of  and  prayed  to  as  if  there  were  but  one,  but  the  myths  show  that  the 
Navahoes  believe  in  many  gods  of  this  name,  and  in  some  prayers  it  is  distinctly 
specified  which  one  is  meant  by  naming  his  home  in  connection  with  him.     In 
plate  I.  he  is  shown,  as  represented  in  the  dry-paintings,  carrying  a  tobacco  bag 
made  of  the  skin  of  Abert's  squirrel  (Sciurus  aberti}.     In  the  picture  the  black 


Notes.  225 

tips  of  toes,  nose,  and  ears,  and  the  reddish  (chestnut)  spot  on  the  back  of  the 
squirrel,  are  carefully  indicated.  The  dry-painting  shows  the  more  important 
characters  of  the  mask  worn  by  the  personator,  —  the  eagle-plumes  at  the  back,  the 
owl-feathers  at  the  base  of  the  plume-ornament,  and  the  peculiar  symbols  at  mouth 
and  eyes,  —  but  it  does  not  show  the  cornstalk  symbol  over  the  nose.  Fig.  27, 
taken  from  a  photograph,  shows  the  mask  trimmed  with  its  collar  of  fresh  spruce 
boughs,  as  it  appears  when  used  in  the  dance  of  naak/^af  on  the  last  night  of  the 
ceremony  of  kled^i  ^a/a/.  The  personator  of  //astreyal/i  has  his  whole  person 
clothed,  while  the  representatives  of  other  gods  go  nearly  naked.  The  proper 
covering  for  his  back  is  a  number  of  finely  dressed  deerskins,  one  over  another, 
tied  together  in  front  by  the  skins  of  the  legs ;  but  of  late  years  the  masquerader 
often  appears  in  an  ordinary  calico  shirt.  The  symbol  surrounding  each  of  the 
holes  for  the  eyes  and  mouth  is  this  r^\ .  It  is  said  to  represent  the  storm 
cloud  hanging  above,  and  the  mist  rising  from  below  to  meet  it.  Thus  cloud 
and  mist  often  appear  in  the  mountains  of  the  Navaho  land  during  the  rainy 
season,  //astreyal/i  or  the  Yebitrai  is  the  principal  character  in  the  great  rite  of 
kledfei  ^a/a/,  or  the  night  chant.  Our  people,  who  often  go  to  witness  the  public 
performance  of  the  last  night  in  this  rite,  call  it  the  Yebitrai  (Yaybichy)  dance. 
The  songs  and  prayers  in  which  //astreyal/i  is  mentioned  are  numerous.  For 
the  points  in  which  fig.  2,  plate  I.,  agree  with  fig.  I,  plate  I.,  see  note  74. 

74.  //as-tre-^o-gan,  spelled  with  alphabet  of  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Qastcdqogan, 
may  be  freely  translated  House  God.  //astre^q^an  is  one  of  the  leading  person- 
ages in  each  of  the  local  groups  of  the  ydi,  or  divine  beings,  who  dwell  in  caves  and 
old  cliff-dwellings.  He  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  if  there  were  but  one  ;  but  an  ex- 
amination of  the  myths  shows  that  the  Navahoes  believe  in  many  of  these  gods. 
Those  of  Tse'gihi,  Tj-e'mV/q^an,  Tse^nits-e,  Kininaekai,  and  the  sacred  mountains 
are  the  ones  most  commonly  worshipped.  In  most  myths  he  appears  as  second 
in  authority  to  7/astreyal/i,  the  Talking  God,  but  occasionally  he  is  represented  as 
equal  or  even  superior  to  the  latter.  He  is  a  farm  god  as  well  as  a  house  god.  To 
him  are  attributed  the  farm-songs  sung  during  the  night  chant  (see  note  322),  and 
many  other  songs.  He  is  a  beneficent  character  and  a  friend  to  man.  There  are 
many  songs  and  prayers  in  his  honor.  In  the  rite  of  kled^i  y£aM/,  or  the  night 
chant,  he  is  represented  in  the  dance  by  a  man  wearing  a  collar  of  spruce,  a  blue 
mask  decorated  with  eagle-plumes  and  moccasins,  with  shirt  and  leggings,  which 
should  be  (but  of  late  years  are  not  always)  of  buckskin.  He  is  depicted  in 
the  dry-paintings  thus  (see  plate  I.,  fig.  i)  :  He  wears  a  black  shirt  ornamented 
with  four  star-like  ornaments  embroidered  in  porcupine  quills,  and  having  a 
fancy  fringe  of  porcupine  quills  at  the  bottom  ;  white  buckskin  leggings ;  col- 
ored garters;  quill  -  embroidered  moccasins,  tied  on  with  white  strings;  long 
ear-pendants  of  turquoise  and  coral ;  bracelets  of  the  same ;  an  otter-skin  (hang- 
ing below  the  right  ear),  from  which  depend  six  buckskin  strings  with  col- 
ored porcupine  quills  wrapped  around  them;  a  cap-like  (male)  mask  painted 
blue,  fringed  with  red  hair,  and  adorned  with  eagle-plumes  and  owl-feathers. 
He  carries  a  staff  (gfo)  painted  black  (with  the  charcoal  of  four  sacred  plants), 
streaked  transversely  with  white,  and  adorned  with  a  single  cluster  of  turkey 
tail-feathers  arranged  as  a  whorl,  and  two  eagle  plumes,  which,  like  the  plumes 
on  the  head,  are  tipped  with  small,  downy  eagle-feathers.  The  yellow  stripe 
at  the  chin  indicates  a  similar  stripe  on  the  mask  actually  worn,  and  sym- 
bolizes the  yellow  light  of  evening  (na^otsdi).  The  neck  of  this  as  well  as 
the  other  divine  figures  is  painted  blue,  and  crossed  with  four  stripes  in  red. 
Some  say  that  this  indicates  the  larynx  with  its  cartilaginous  rings ;  others  say 
that  it  represents  the  collar  of  spruce-twigs  ;  others  are  uncertain  of  its  meaning. 
If  it  does  not  represent  the  spruce  collars,  it  represents  nothing  in  the  costume  of 


226  Notes. 

the  maquerader,  which,  in  other  respects,  except  the  quill  embroideries,  agrees  closely 
with  the  picture,     //astreyal/i  is  also  a  dawn  god,  ^astre^q^an  a  god  of  evening. 

75.  In  the  Navaho  tales,  men  frequently  receive  friendly  warnings  or  advice 
from  wind  gods  who  whisper  into   their  ears.     Some  story-tellers — as    in    the 
version  of  the  origin  myth  here  given  —  speak  of  one  wind  god  only,  whom  they 
call  simply  Nl'ltri  (Wind);    while  others  —  as  in  the  story  of  Na/I'nesMani  — 
speak  of  Ni'ltri-^ine''  (Wind  People)  and  Nil/sia^i-^me'  (Little  Wind  People)  as 
the  friendly  prompters. 

76.  The  game  of  nanzoz,  as  played  by  the  Navahoes,  is  much  the  same  as  the 
game  of  chungkee  played  by  the  Mandans,  described  and  depicted  by  Catlin  in 
his  "  North  American  Indians,"296  vol.  i.,  page  132,  plate  59.     A  hoop  is  rolled 
along  the  ground  and  long  poles  are  thrown  after  it.     The  Mandan  pole  was  made 
of  a  single  piece  of  wood.     The  pole  of  the  Navahoes  is  made  of  two  pieces, 
usually  alder,  each  a  natural  fathom  long;    the   pieces   overlap  and   are  bound 
together  by  a  long  branching  strap  of  hide  called  ///agibike,  or  turkey-claw. 

77.  These  shells  may  not  be  altogether  mythical.     Possibly  they  are  the  same 
as  those  described  in  the  story  of  "  The  Great  Shell  of  Kintye'l "  given  in  this 
book. 

78.  Vague  descriptions  only  of  Be-ko-tri-<fi  so  far  have  been  obtained.     He  is 
not  represented  by  any  masked  characters  in  the  ceremonies,  or  by  any  picture  in 
the  dry-paintings.     No  description  of  his  appearance  has  been  recorded,  except 
that  he  looks  like  an  old  man.     There  is  a  myth  concerning  him  of  which  a  brief 
epitome  has  been  recorded.     There  are  four  songs  of  sequence  connected  with  this 
myth.     If  a  Navaho  wants  a  fine  horse,  he  thinks  he  may  get  it  by  singing  the 
second  and  third  of  these  songs  and  praying  to  Be'kotrifc/i.     In  his  prayer  he  speci- 
fies the  color  and  appearance  of  the  horse  desired.     Some  say  that  Edkotm/i 
made  all  the  animals  whose  creation  is  not  otherwise  accounted  for  in  the  myths. 
Others  say  that  he  and  the  Sun  made  the  animals  together.     Others,  again,  limit 
his  creation  work  to  the  larger  game  animals  and  the  modern  domestic  animals. 
In  this  paragraph  (228)  it  is  said  he  is  the  god  who  carries  the  moon,  while  in 
paragraph  199  it  is  said  the  moon-bearer  is  Klelianoai.     Perhaps  these  are  two 
names  for  one  character.     Some  say  he  is  the  same  as  the  God  of  the  Americans. 

79.  Bayeta,  Spanish  for  baize.     The  variety  of  baize  which  finds  its  way  into 
the  Navaho  country  is  dyed  some  shade  of  crimson,  and  has  a  very  long  nap.     It 
is  supposed  to  be  made  in  England  especially  for  the  Spanish-American  trade, 
for  each  original  bale  bears  a  gaudy  colored  label  with  an  inscription  in  Spanish. 
It  takes  the  place  in  the  Southwest  of  the  scarlet  strouding  which  used  to  form 
such  an  important  article  in  the  trade  of  our  northern  tribes.     The  bright  red 
figures  in  the  finer  Navaho  blankets,  fifteen  years  or  more  ago,  were  all  made 
of  threads  of  ravelled  bayeta. 

80.  The  coyote,  or  prairie-wolf  (Cam's  latrans),  would  seem  to  be  regarded  by 
the  Navahoes  as  the  type,  or  standard  for  comparison,  among  the  wild  Canidce  of 
the  Southwest.     The  coyote  is  called  mai ;  the  great  wolf,  maitso,  which  means 
great  coyote;  and  the  kit  fox  (Vulpes  velox)  is  called  maido/lrX  which  means  blue 
or  gray  coyote. 

81.  Some  versions  say  there  were  twelve  brothers  and  one  sister  in  this  divine 
family,  making  thirteen  in  all.     In  this  version  the  narrator  tells  how  another 
brother  was  created  by  Estsdnatlehi  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of  Zeyaneyani, 
who  left  the  brotherhood.     (Par.  417.)     Although  called  Z>ine4  Nakida/a,  or  the 
Twelve  People,  these  brothers  are  evidently  divinities.     True,  they  once  died  ;  but 
they  came  to  life  again  and  are  now  immortal.     They  are  gifted  with  superhuman 
powers. 

82.  The  sweat-house  of  the  Navahoes  (par.  25,  fig.  15)  is  usually  not  more  than 


Notes. 


227 


Fig.  38.     Natural  bridge,  near  Fort  Defiance,  Arizona. 

three  feet  high.  Diaphoresis  is  produced  on  the  principle  of  the  Turkish  (not  the 
Russian)  bath.  While  the  Indians  of  the  North  pour  water  on  the  hot  stones 
and  give  a  steam  bath,  the  Navahoes  simply  place  stones,  heated  in  a  fire  out- 
side, on  the  floor  of  the  sweat-house,  cover  the  entrance  with  blankets,  and  thus 
raise  a  high  heat  that  produces  violent  perspiration.  When  the  occupant  comes 
out,  if  the  bath  is  not  ceremonial,  he  rolls  himself  in  the  sand,  and,  when  his  skin 
is  thus  dried,  he  brushes  the  sand  away.  He  usually  returns  then  to  the  sweat- 
house,  and  may  repeat  the  operation  several  times  in  a  single  afternoon.  If  the 
sweat  is  ceremonial,  the  bath  of  yucca  suds  usually  follows  (see  note  10),  and 
the  subject  is  dried  with  corn  meal. 

83.  One  version  relates  that,  before  they  entered  the  sudatory,  Coyote  proposed 
they  should  produce  emesis  by  tickling  their  throats,  —  a  common  practice  among 
the  Navahoes.     He  placed  a  large  piece  of  pine  bark  before  each,  as  a  dish,  and 
bade  Ye/apahi  keep  his  eyes  shut  till  he  was  told  to  open  them.     That  day  Coyote 
had  fared  poorly.     He  had  found  nothing  to  eat  but  a  few  bugs  and  worms,  while 
Ye/apahi  had  dined  heartily  on  fat  venison.     When  the  emesis  was  over,  Coyote 
exchanged  the  bark  dishes  and  said  to  Ye/apahi :  "  Open  your  eyes  and  see  what 
bad  things  you  have  had  in  your  stomach.     These  are  the  things  that  make  you 
sick."     The  giant  opened  his  eyes  and  beheld  on  the  bark  a  lot  of  bugs  and 
worms.     "  It  is  true,  my  friend,  what  you  tell  me,"  he  said.     "  How  did  I  get  such 
vile  things  into  me  ?     No  wonder  I  could  not  run  fast."     Coyote  then  told  the 
giant  to  go  before  him  into  the  sudatory,  and  when  the  giant  had  turned  his  back 
the  hungry  Coyote  promptly  devoured  the  contents  of  the  other  dish  of  bark. 

84.  The  word  /ohe  (Englished  thohay),  which  may  be  interpreted  stand,  stick, 
or  stay,  is,  in  various  rites,  shouted  in  an    authoritative  tone  when   it   is   desired 
that  some  object  shall  obey  the  will  of  the  conjurer.     Thus  in  the  dance  of  the 
standing  arcs,  as  practised  in  the   rite   of   the  mountain   chant,  when  an  arc  is 
placed  on  the  head  of  a  performer,  and  it  is  intended  that  it  should  stand  without 


228 


Notes. 


apparent  means  of  support,  the  cry  "  /ohe  "  is  frequently  repeated.     (See  "  The 
Mountain  Chant,"  314  p.  437.) 

85.  The  statement  that  the  hair  of  the  gods,  both  friendly  and  alien,  is  yellow, 
is  made  in  other  tales  also.     The  hair  of  the  ceremonial  masks  is  reddish  or  yel- 
lowish.   (See  plates  IV.  and  VII.)     The  hair  of  the  gods  is  represented  by  red  in 
the  dry-pictures.     Dull  tints  of  red   are    often   called  yellow  by   the    Navahoes. 
Various  conjectures  may  be  made  to  account  for  these  facts. 

86.  The  bridge  of  rainbow,  as  well  as  the  trail  of  rainbow,  is  frequently  intro- 
duced into  Navaho  tales.     The  Navaho  land  abounds  in  deep  chasms  and  canyons, 
and  the  divine  ones,  in  their  wanderings,  are  said  to  bridge  the  canyons  by  pro- 
ducing rainbows.     In  the  myth  of  "  The  Mountain  Chant,"  p.  399  (note  314),  the 
god  //astye'yal/i  is  represented  as  making  a  rainbow  bridge  for  the  hero  to  walk 


Fig-  39.     Yucca  baccata. 

on.  The  hero  steps  on  the  bow,  but  sinks  in  it  because  the  bow  is  soft ;  then  the 
god  blows  a  breath  that  hardens  the  bow,  and  the  man  walks  on  it  with  ease.  A 
natural  bridge  near  Fort  Defiance,  Arizona,  is  thought  by  the  Navahoes  to  have 
been  originally  one  of  the  rainbow  bridges  of  ^astrfyaM.  (See  fig.  38.) 

87.  The  spiders  of  Arizona  are  largely  of  the  classes  that  live  in  the  ground, 
including  trap-door  spiders,  tarantulas,  etc. 

88.  This  legend  and  nearly  all  the  legends  of  the  Navaho  make  frequent  allu- 
sions to  yucca.     Four  kinds  are  mentioned  :   ist,  tsasi  or  7/ajkdn,  Yucca  baccata 


Notes. 


229 


(Torrey) ;  2d,  tsasitsdz,  or  slender  yucca,  Yucca  glauca  (Nuttall),  Yucca  angusti- 
folia  (Pursh);  3d,  yebitsasi,  or  yucca  of  the  gods,  probably  Yucca  radiosa  (Tre- 
lease),  Yucca  data  (Engelmann) ;  4th,  tsasibi/e,  or  horned  yucca,  which  seems  to 
be  but  a  stunted  form  or  dwarf  variety  of  Yucca  baccata,  never  seen  in  bloom  or  in 
fruit  by  the  author.  Tsdsi  is  used  as  a  generic  name.  All  kinds  are  employed 
in  the  rites,  sometimes  indifferently  ;  at  other  times  only  a  certain  species  may 
be  used.  Thus  in  the  sacred  game  of  kesitre,176  the  counters  are  made  of  the 
leaves  of  Y.  glauca  j  in  the  initiation  into  the  mystery  of  the  Ye'bitrai,  the  candi- 
date is  flogged  with  the  leaf  of  Y.  baccata.  Fig. 
26  represents  a  mask  used  in  the  rites  of  kled^i 
h3.t£l,  which  must  be  made  only  of  the  leaves  of 
Y.  baccata,  culled  with  many  singular  observances. 
All  these  yuccas  have  saponine  in  their  roots 
(which  are  known  as  /alawu^  or  foam),  and  all 
are  used  for  cleansing  purposes.  All  have,  in 
their  leaves,  long  tough  fibres  which  are  utilized 
for  all  the  purposes  to  which  such  fibres  may  be 
applied.  One  species  only,  Yucca  baccata,  has  an 
edible  fruit.  This  is  called  ^a^kan  (from  hos, 
thorny,  and  kan,  sweet),  a  name  sometimes  ap- 
plied to  the  whole  plant.  The  fruit  is  eaten  raw 
and  made  into  a  tough,  dense  jelly,  both  by  the 
Navaho  and  Pueblo  Indians.  The  first  and  sec- 
ond kinds  grow  abundantly  in  the  Navaho  coun- 
try ;  the  third  and  fourth  kinds  are  rarer.  Fig. 
40  represents  a  drumstick  used  in  the  rites  of 
kled^i  ^a/a/,  which  must  be  made  only  of  four 
leaves  of  Yucca  baccata.  The  intricate  observ- 
ances connected  with  the  manufacture,  use,  de- 
struction, and  sacrifice  of  this  drumstick  have 
already  been  described  by  the  author.321 

89.  The   cane    cactus   is    Opuntia   arborescens 
(Engelm.). 

90.  T.rike'  S?iS   Natlehi  means  literally  Young 
Woman  Who  Changes  to  a  Bear,  or  Maid  Who 
Becomes  a  Bear.    To  judge  from  this  tale,  it  might 
be  thought  that  there  was  but  one  such  character 
in  the  Navaho  mythology  and  that  she  had  died. 
But  it  appears  from  other  legends  and  from  ritu- 
als  that  the    Navahoes   believe  in  several   such 
maidens,  some  of  whom  exist  to  this  day.    The  hill 
of  T^uj-kai  (note  9)  is  said  in  the  myth  of  dsi/yi'd^e 
^a/a/  to  be  the  home  of  several  of  the  T^ike  Sas 
Natlehi  now.     It  would  seem  from  the  songs  of 
dsi/yi'd^e  fat&l  that  the  Maid  Who  Becomes  a 

Bear  of  later  days  is  not  considered  as  malevolent  as  the  first  of  her  kind.     Her 
succor  is  sought  by  the  sick. 

91.  See  par.  26.     From  the  language  of  this  story,  the  conclusion  may  be  drawn 
that  death  is  not  the  only  thing  that  renders  a  house  haunted  or  evil  but  that,  if 
great  misfortune  has  entered  there,  it  is  also  to  be  avoided. 

92.  This  remark  must  refer  only  to  the  particular  group  whose  story  is  traced. 
According  to  the  legend,  other  bands  of  Z>me'',  who  had  escaped  the  fury  of  the 
alien  gods,  existed  at  this  time,  and  when  they  afterwards  joined  the  Navahoes 


Fig.  40.     Drumstick  made  of 
Yucca  leaves. 


2  30  Notes. 


they  were  known  as  ^ine'    digini  (holy  or  mystic  people).     (See  pars.  385  and 

3870 

93.  The  gods,  and  such  men  as  they  favor,  are  represented  in  the  tales  as  making 

rapid  and  easy  journeys  on  rainbows,  sunbeams,  and  streaks  of  lightning.  Such 
miraculous  paths  are  called  e/i'n  ^igini,  or  holy  trails.  They  are  also  represented 
as  using  sunbeams  like  rafts  to  float  through  the  air. 

94.  Compare  this  account  with  the  creation  of  First  Man  and  First  Woman. 
(Pars.  162-164.) 

95.  Es-ts£-na-tle-hi  (par.  72)  is  never  represented  in  the  rites  by  a  masquerader, 
and  never  depicted  in  the  sand-paintings,  as  far  as  the  author  has  been  able  to 
learn.     Other  versions  of  the  legend  account  for  her  creation  in  other  ways.     Ver- 
sion A.  —  First  Man  and  First  Woman  stayed  at  Dsilnao/i/  and  camped  in  various 
places  around  the  mountain.     One  day  a  black  cloud  descended  on  the  mountain 
of  Tjolihi,  and  remained  there  four  days.     First  Man  said  :  "  Surely  something 
has  happened  from  this  ;  let  some  one  go  over  there   and  see."     First  Woman 
went.     She  approached  the  mountain  from  the  east,  and  wound  four  times  around 
it  in  ascending  it.     On  the  top  she  found  a  female  infant,  who  was  the  daughter 
of   the  Earth  Mother  (Naestsan,  the   Woman  Horizontal)  and  the   Sky  Father 
(YaWf/yi/,  the  Upper  Darkness).     She  picked  up  the  child,  who  till  that  moment 
had  been  silent  ;  but  as  soon  as  she  was  lifted  she  began  to  cry,  and  never  ceased 
crying  until  she  got  home  to  Dsl/nao/i/.     Salt  Woman  said  she  wanted  the  child. 
It  is  thought  the  sun  fed  the  infant  on  pollen,  for  there  was  no  one  to  nurse  it.     In 
twelve  days  she  grew  to  be  a  big  girl,  and  in  eighteen  days  she  became  a  woman, 
and  they  held  the  nubile  ceremony  over  her.     Twelve  songs  belong  to  this  cere- 
mony.    Version  B  only  says  that  First  Woman  found  the  infant  lying  on  the 
ground  and  took  it  home  to  rear  it.     (See  "  Some  Deities  and  Demons  of  the 
Navajos,"  313  pp.  844,  846.) 

96.  Yo/-kai  Es-tsan  signifies  White  Shell  Woman.     Yo/kaf  is  derived  by  syn- 
cope from  yo  (a  bead,  or  the  shell  from  which  a  bead  is  made)  and  /akai  (white). 
Estsa~n  means  woman.     As  far  as  known,  she  is  not  represented  by  a  character  in 
any  of  the  ceremonies,  and  not  depicted  in  the  dry-paintings. 

97.  Note  omitted. 

98.  Z<5'-ne-nMi  or  Tb-ne-nMi,  Water  Sprinkler,  is  an  important   character  in 
Navaho  mythology.     He  is  a  rain-god.     In  the  dry-paintings  of  the  Navaho  rites 
he  is  shown  as  wearing  a  blue  mask  bordered  with  red,  and  trimmed  on  top  with 
life-feathers.     Sometimes  he  is  represented  carrying  a  water-pot.     In  the  rite  of 
kled^i  ^a/a7,  during  the  public  dance  of  the  last  night,  he  is  represented  by  a 
masked  man  who  enacts  the  part  of  a  clown.     While  other  masked  men  are  dan- 
cing, this  clown  performs  various  antics  according  to  his  caprice.    He  walks  along 
the  line  of  dancers,  gets  in  their  way,  dances  out  of  order  and  out  of  time,  peers 
foolishly  at  different  persons,  or  sits  on  the  ground,  his  hands  clasped  across  his 
knees,  his  body  rocking  to  and  fro.     At  times  he  joins  regularly  in  the  dance  ; 
toward  the  close  of  a  figure,  and  when  the  others  have  retired,  pretending  he  is 
unaware  of  their  departure,  he  remains,  going  through  his  steps.     Then,  feigning 
to  suddenly  discover  the  absence  of  the  dancers,  he  follows  them  on  a  full  run. 
Sometimes  he  carries  a  fox-skin,  drops  it  on  the  ground,  walks  away  as  if  uncon- 
scious of  his  loss  ;  then,  pretending  to  become  aware  of  his  loss,  he  turns  around 
and  acts  as  if  searching  anxiously  for  the  skin,  which  lies  plainly  in  sight.     He 
screens  his  eyes  with  his  hand  and  crouches  low  to  look.     Then,  pretending  to 
find  the  skin,  he  jumps  on  it  and  beats  it  as  if  it  were  a  live  animal  that  he  seeks 
to  kill.     Next  he  shoulders  and  carries  it  as  if  it  were  a  heavy  burden.     With 
such  antics  the  personator  of  755'nenlli  assists  in  varying  the  monotony  of  the 
long  night's  performance.     Though  shown  as  a  fool  in  the   rites,  he  is  not  so 
shown  in  the  myths. 


Notes.  231 

99.  They  manipulated  the  abdominal  parietes,  in  the  belief  that  by  so  doing 
they  would  insure  a  favorable  presentation.     This  is  the  custom  among  the  Nava- 
hoes  to-day. 

100.  Among  the  Navahoes,  medicine-men  act  as  accoucheurs. 

101.  Other  versions  make  Estsanatlehi  the  mother  of  both  War  Gods,  and  give 
a  less  imaginative  account  of  their  conception.     Version  A.  —  The  maiden  Estsd- 
natlehi  went  out  to  get  wood.     She  collected  a  bundle,  tied  it  with  a  rope,  and 
when  she  knelt  down  to  lift  it  she  felt  a  foot  pressed  upon  her  back ;  she  looked 
up  and  saw  no  one.     Three  times  more  kneeling,  she  felt  the  pressure  of  the  foot. 
When  she  looked  up  for  the  fourth  time,  she  saw  a  man.     "  Where  do  you  live  ?  " 
he  asked.     "  Near  by,"  she  replied,  pointing  to  her  home.     "  On  yonder  mountain," 
he  said,  "  you  will  find  four  yuccas,  each  of  a  different  kind,  cut  on  the  north  side  to 
mark  them.     Dig  the  roots  of  these  yuccas  and  make  yourself  a  bath.     Get  meal 
of  /ohono/i'ni  corn  (note  28),  yellow  from  your  mother,  white  from  your   father 
(note   27).     Then  build  yourself  a  brush  shelter  away  from  your  hut  and  sleep 
there  four  nights."     She  went  home  and  told  all  this  to  her  foster  parents.     They 
followed  all  the  directions  of  the  mysterious  visitor,  for  they  knew  he  was  the  Sun. 
During  three  nights  nothing  happened  in  the  brush  shelter  that  she  knew  of.     On 
the  morning  after  the  fourth  night  she  was  awakened  from  her  sleep  by  the  sound 
of  departing  footsteps,  and,  looking  in  the  direction  that  she  heard  them,  she  saw 
the  sun  rising.     Four  days  after  this  (or  twelve  days,  as  some  say)  Nayenezgani 
was  born.     Four  days  later  she  went  to  cleanse  herself  at  a  spring,  and  there  she 
conceived  of  the  water,  and  in  four  days  more  TVbadrfstrfni,  the  second  War 
God,  was  born  to  her.     Version  B.  —  The  Sun  (or  bearer  of  the  sun)  met  her  in  the 
woods  and  designated  a  trysting  place.     Here  First  Man  built  a  corral  of  branches. 
Sun  visited  her,  in   the  form  of  an  ordinary  man,  in  the  corral,  four  nights  in 
succession.     Four  days   after   the  last  visit  she   gave  birth  to  twins,  who  were 
Naydnezgani  and  Tb'bad.sristnm.     (See  "A  Part  of  the  Navajos' Mythology,"306 
pp.  9,  10.) 

102.  Version  A  thus  describes  the  baby  basket  of  the  elder  brother:  The  child 
was  wrapped  in  black  cloud.     A  rainbow  was  used  for  the  hood  of  the  basket  and 
studded  with  stars.     The  back  of  the  frame  was  a  parhelion,  with  the  bright  spot 
at  its  bottom  shining  at  the  lowest  point.     Zigzag  lightning  was  laid  on  each  side 
and  straight  lightning  down  the  middle  in  front.     Niltsat/o/  (sunbeams  shining 
on  a  distant  rainstorm)  formed  the  fringe  in  front  where  Indians  now  put  strips  of 
buckskin.     The  carrying-straps  were  sunbeams. 

103.  The  mountain  mahogany  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  is  the  Cercocarpus 
parvifolius,  Nutt.     It  is  called  by  the  Navahoes  Tsd'estagi,  which  means  hard  as 
stone. 

104.  Round    cactus,  one    or   more   species   of  Mammilaria.     Sitting  cactus, 
Cereus  phceniceus,  and  perhaps  other  species  of  Cereus. 

105.  Ye-i-tso  (from  yei,  a  god  or  genius,  and  tso,  great)  was  the  greatest  and 
fiercest  of  the  anaye,  or  alien  gods.     (Par.  80,  note  7.)     All  descriptions  of  him  are 
substantially  the  same.     (See  pars.  323,  325,  326.)     According  to  the  accounts  of 
//a/a/i  Nez  and  Torlino,  his  father  was  a  stone  ;  yet  in  par.  320  and  in  Version  B 
the  sun  is  represented  as  saying  that  Yeitso  is  his  child.     Perhaps  they  mean  he 
is  the  child  of  the  sun  in  a  metaphysical  sense. 

1 06.  This  part  of  the  myth  alludes  to  the  trap-door  spiders,  or  tarantulas  of  the 
Southwest,  that  dwell  in  carefully  prepared  nests  in  the  ground. 

107.  By  life-feather  or  breath-feather  (hyind  biltsds)  is  meant  a  feather  taken 
from  a  live  bird,  especially  one  taken  from  a  live  eagle.     Such  feathers  are  sup- 
posed to  preserve  life  and  possess  other  magic  powers.     They  are  used  in  all  the 
rites.     In  order  to  secure  a  supply  of  these  feathers,  the  Pueblo  Indians  catch 


272 


Notes. 


eaglets  and  rear  them  in  captivity  (see  pars.  560  et  seq.}  ;  but  the  Navahoes,  like 
the  wild  tribes  of  the  north,  catch  full-grown  eagles  in  traps,  and  pluck  them  while 
alive.  This  method  of  catching  eagles  has  been  described  by  the  author  in  his 
"  Ethnography  and  Philology  of  the  Hidatsa  Indians."  305 

1  08.  Pollen  being  an  emblem  of  peace,  this  is  equivalent  to  saying,  "  Put  your 
feet  down  in  peace,"  etc. 

109.  Version  A  in  describing  the  adventure  with  Spider  Woman  adds:  There 
were  only  four  rungs  to  the  ladder.  She  had  many  seats  in  her  house.  The  elder 
brother  sat  on  a  seat  of  obsidian  ;  the  younger,  on  a  seat  of  turquoise.  She 
offered  them  food  of  four  kinds  to  eat  ;  they  only  accepted  one  kind.  When  they 
had  eaten,  a  small  image  of  obsidian  came  out  from  an  apartment  in  the  east  and 
stood  on  a  serrated  platform,  or  platform  of  serrate  knives.  The  elder  brother 
stood  on  the  platform  beside  the  image.  Spider  Woman  blew  a  strong  breath 
four  times  on  the  image  in  the  direction  of  the  youth,  and  the  latter  became  thus 
endowed  with  the  hard  nature  of  the  obsidian,  which  was  to  further  preserve  him 
in  his  future  trials.  From  the  south  room  came  a  turquoise  image,  and  stood  on 
a  serrated  platform.  The  younger  brother  stood  beside  this.  Spider  Woman 
blew  on  the  turquoise  image  toward  him,  and  he  thus  acquired  the  hard  nature  of 
the  blue  stone.  To-day  in  the  rites  of  tiozoni  7/a/aV  they  have  a  prayer  concern- 
ing these  incidents  beginning,  "  Now  I  stand  on  pe-sv/olgas."  (See  note  264.) 

no.  In  describing  the  journey  of  the  War  Gods  to  the  house  of  the  Sun,  version 
A  adds  something.  At  7\5'sa/o  or  Hot  Spring  (Ojo  Gallina,  near  San  Rafael),  the 
brothers  have  an  adventure  with  Tidholtsodi,  the  water  monster,  who  threatens 
them  and  is  appeased  with  prayer.  They  encounter  Old  Age  People,  who  treat 
them  kindly,  but  bid  them  not  follow  the  trail  that  leads  to  the  house  of  Old  Age. 
They  come  to  //ayo/ka/,  Daylight,  which  rises  like  a  great  range  of  mountains 
in  front  of  them.  (Songs.)  They  fear  they  will  have  to  cross  this,  but  Daylight 
rises  from  the  ground  and  lets  them  pass  under.  .  .  .  They  come  to  Tja/yeV,  Dark- 
ness. Wind  whispers  into  their  ears  what  songs  to  sing.  Thev  sing  these  songs 
and  T^a/ye/  rises  and  lets  them  pass  under.  They  come  to  water,  which  they 
walk  over.  On  the  other  side  they  meet  their  sister,  the  daughter  of  the  Sun,  who 
dwells  in  the  house  of  the  Sun.  She  speaks  not,  but  turns  silently  around,  and 
they  follow  her  to  the  house. 

in.  According  to  version  A,  there  were  four  sentinels  of  each  kind,  and  they 
lay  in  the  passageway  or  entrance  to  the  house.  A  curtain  hung  in  front  of  each 
group  of  four.  In  each  group  the  first  sentinel  was  black,  the  second  blue,  the 
third  yellow,  the  fourth  white.  The  brothers  sang  songs  to  the  guardians  and 
sprinkled  pollen  on  them. 

112.  Version  A  gives  the  names  of  these  two  young  men  as  Black  Thunder  and 
Blue  Thunder. 

113.  The  teller  of  the  version  has  omitted  to  mention  that  the  brothers,  when 
they  entered  the  house,  declared  that  they  came  to  seek  their  father,   but  other 
story-tellers  do  not  fail  to  tell  this. 

114.  Four  articles  of  a£mor  were  given   to   each,  and   six   different   kinds   of 
weapons  were  given  to  them.     The  articles  of  armor  were  :  pe.rke'  (knife  mocca- 
sins), pe-HsUe'  (knife  leggings),  pe^e'  (knife  shirt),  and  pejUd  (knife  hat).      The 
word  "  pe^,"  in  the  above  names  for  armor,  is  here  translated  knife.     The  term 
was  originally  applied  to  flint  knives,  and  to  the  flakes  from  which  flint  knives 
were  made.     After  the  introduction  of  European  tools,  the  meaning  was  extended 
to  include  iron  knives,  and  now  it  is  applied  to  any  object  of  iron,  and,  with  quali- 
fying suffixes,  to  all  kinds  of  metal.     Thus  copper  is  pej/itri,  or  red  metal,  and 
silver,  pej/akai,  or  white  metal.    Many  of  the  Navahoes  now  think  that  the  mythic 
armor  of  their  gods  was  of  iron.     Such  the  author  believed  it  to  be  in  the  earlier 


Notes.  233 

years  of  his  investigation  among  the  Navahoes,  and  he  was  inclined  to  believe 
that  they  borrowed  the  idea  of  armored  heroes  from  the  Spanish  invaders  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  Later  studies  have  led  him  to  conclude  that  the  conception  of 
armored  heroes  was  not  borrowed  from  the  whites,  and  that  the  armor  was  sup- 
posed to  be  made  of  stone  flakes  such  as  were  employed  in  making  knives  in  the 
prehistoric  days.  The  Mokis  believe  that  their  gods  and  heroes  wore  armor  of 
flint. 

1 15.  The  weapons  were  these :  — 
atsinikli'^ka  (chain-lightning  arrows) 
//atrflkl'jka  or  kadilki'ska.  (sheet-lightning  arrows) 
ja'bitlolka  (sunbeam  arrows) 

natsili'/ka  (rainbow  arrows) 

pej/zal  (stone  knife-club) 

//atsoil/^al,  which  some  say  was  a  thunderbolt,  and  others  say  was  a  great 
stone  knife,  with  a  blade  as  broad  as  the  hand.  Some  say  that  only  one  stone 
knife  was  given,  which  was  for  Nayenezgani,  and  that  only  two  thunderbolts  were 
given,  both  of  which  were  for  Tb'badsrlstnni.  The  man  who  now  personates 
Nayenezgani  in  the  rites  carries  a  stone  knife  of  unusual  size  (plate  IV.);  and  he 
who  personates  Tb'badrfstrfni  carries  in  each  hand  a  wooden  cylinder  (one  black 
and  one  red)  to  represent  a  thunderbolt.  (Plate  VII.) 

1 1 6.  Version  A  adds  that  when  they  were  thus  equipped  they  were  dressed 
exactly  like  their  brothers  Black  Thunder  and  Blue  Thunder,  who  dwelt  in  the 
house  of  the  Sun. 

1 1 7.  The  man  who  told  this  tale  explained  that  there  were  sixteen  poles  in  the 
east  and  sixteen  in  the  west  to  join  earth  and  sky.     Others  say  there  were  thirty- 
two  poles  on  each  side.     The  Navahoes  explain  the  annual  progress  of  the  sun  by 
saying  that  at  the  winter  solstice  he  climbs  on  the  pole  farthest  south  in  rising;  that 
as  the  season  advances  he  climbs  on  poles  farther  and  farther  north,  until  at  the 
summer  solstice  he  climbs  the  pole  farthest  north ;  that  then  he  retraces  his  way, 
climbing  different  poles  until  he  reaches  the  south  again.     He  is  supposed  to  spend 
about  an  equal  number  of  days  at  each  pole. 

1 1 8.  Many  versions  relate  that  the  bearer  of  the  sun  rode  a  horse,  or  other  pet 
animal.     The  Navaho  word  here  employed  is  /i«,  which  means  any  domesticated 
or  pet  animal,  but  now,  especially,  a  horse.     Version  A  says  the  animal  he  rode 
was  made  of  turquoise  and  larger  than  a  horse.     Such  versions  have  great  diffi- 
culty in  getting  the  horse  up  to  the  sky.     Version  A  makes  the  sky  dip  down  and 
touch  the  earth  to  let  the  horse  ascend.     Of  course  the  horse  is  a  modern  addition 
to  the  tale.     They  never  saw  horses  until  the  sixteenth  century,  and  previous  to 
that  time  it  is  not  known  that  any  animal  was  ridden  on  the  western  continent. 
Version  B  merely  says  that  the  Sun  "  put  on  his  robe  of  cloud,  and,  taking  one 
of  his  sons  under  each  arm,  he  rose  into  the  heavens." 

119.  Version  B  says  they  all  ate  a  meal  on  their  journey  to  the  sky-hole.     Ver- 
sion A  says  that  they  ate  for  food,  at  the  sky-hole,  before  the  brothers  descended, 
a  mixture  of  five  kinds  of  pollen,  viz. :  pollen  of  white  corn,  pollen  of  yellow  corn, 
pollen  of  dawn,  pollen  of  evening  twilight,  and  pollen  of  the  sun.11     These  were 
mixed  with  AS'/anastri,  all  kinds  of  water.67 

120.  7\5'-sa-/o  or  Warm  Spring  is  at  the  village  of  San  Rafael,  Valencia  County, 
New  Mexico.     It  is  about  three  miles  in  a  southerly  direction  from  Grant's,  on  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad,  five  miles  from  the  base  and  eighteen  miles  from 
the  summit  of  Mount  Taylor,  in  a  southwesterly  direction  from  the  latter.     The 
lake  referred  to  in  the  myth  lies  about  two  miles  southeast  of  the  spring. 

121.  According  to  Version  A,  the  monsters  or  andye  were  all  conceived  in  the 
fifth  world  and  born   of  one  woman  (a  granddaughter  of  First  Woman),  who 


234  Notes. 

travelled  much  and  rarely  stayed  at  home.     According  to  Version  B,  the  monsters 
were  sent  by  First  Woman,  who  became  offended  with  man. 

122.  Version  A  gives,  in  addition  to  Ts6tsl/,  the  names  of  the  other  three  hills 
over  which  Yeltso  appeared.     These  were :  in  the  east,  Sa'akea' ;  in  the  south, 
Dsi/sitri  (Red  Mountain);  in  the  west,  Tse7paina/i  (Brown  Rock  Hanging  Down). 

123.  Version  A.  —  "  Hragh  !  "  said  he,  with  a  sigh  of  satisfaction  (pantomimically 
expressed),  "  I  have  finished  that." 

124.  Yinike/dko  !     No  etymology  has  been  discovered  for  this  expression.     It 
is  believed  to  be  the  equivalent  of  the  "  Fee  Fa  Fum !  "    of  the  giants  in  our 
nursery  tales. 

125.  Version  B.  —  This  bolt  rent  his  armor. 

126.  It  is  common  in  this  and  all  other  versions  to  show  that  evil  turns  to  good 
(see  pars.  338,  345,  349,  et  al.\  and  that  the  demons  dead  become  useful  to  man  in 
other  forms.     How  the  armor  of  Yeltso  became  useful  to  man,  the  narrator  here 
forgot  to  state ;  but  it  may  be  conjectured  that  he  should  have  said  that  it  furnished 
flint  flakes  for  knives  and  arrow-heads. 

127.  Other  versions  state,  more  particularly,  that,  in  accordance  with  the  In- 
dian custom,  these  names  were  given  when  the  brothers  returned  to  their  home, 
and  the  ceremony  of  rejoicing  (the  "  scalp-dance  ")  was  held  for  their  first  victory. 
Naye'nezgani  is  derived  from  na,  or  ana  (alien  or  enemy :  see  note  7) ;  y&,   ye 
or  ge  (a  genius  or  god  ;  hence  andye,  an  alien  god  or  giant :  see  par.  80) ;  nezga'  (to 
kill  with  a  blow  or  blows,  as  in  killing  with  a  club) ;  and  the  suffix  ni  (person). 
The  name  means,  therefore,  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods,  or  Slayer  of  Giants.     As 
the  sounds  of  g  and  y  before  e  are  interchangeable  in  the  Navaho  language,  the 
name  is  heard  pronounced  both  Naye'nezgani  and  Nagdnezgani,  —  about  as  often 
one  way  as  the  other.     In  previous  essays  the  author  has  spelled  it  in  the  latter 
way ;  but  in  this  work  he  gives  preference  to  the  former,  since  it  is  more  in  har- 
mony with  his  spelling  of  other  names  containing  the  word  "  ye  "  or  "  yei."     (See 
par.  78.)     Tb'-ba-dsTs-tn-ni  is  derived  from  /o'  (water),  ba(for  him),  d-snfstjfn  (born), 
and  the  suffix  ni.     The  name  therefore  means,  literally,  Born  for  the  Water;  but 
the  expression  bads-Istrfn  (born  for  him)  denotes  the  relation  of  father  and  child, 
—  not  of  a  mother  and  child,  —  so  that  a  free  translation  of  the  name  is  Child 
of  the  Water.     The  second  name  of  this  god,  NaWildri,  is  rarely  used. 

128.  About  40  miles  to  the  northeast  of  the  top  of  Mt.  San  Mateo  there  is  a 
dark,  high  volcanic  hill  called  by  the  Mexicans  El  Cabezon,  or  The  Great  Head. 
This  is  the  object  which,  according  to  the  Navaho  story-tellers,  was  the  head  of 
Yditso.     Around  the  base  of  San  Mateo,  chiefly  toward  the  east  and  north,  there 
are  several  more  high  volcanic  peaks,  of  less  prominence  than  El  Cabezon,  which 
are  said  to  have  been  the  heads  of  other  giants  who  were  slain  in  a  great  storm 
raised  by  the  War  Gods.     (See  pars.  358,  359.)     Plate  V.  shows  six  of  these  vol- 
canic hills.     The  high  truncated  cone  in  the  distance  (17  miles  from  the  point  of 
view)  is  El  Cabezon.     Captain  Clarence  E.  Button,  U.  S.  A.,  treats  of  the  geologic 
character  of  these  cones  in  his  work  on  Mount  Taylor.299     Plate  V.  is  taken  from 
the   same   photograph   as  his  plate  XXI.     In  Lieut.  Simpson's  report,828  p.  73, 
this  hill  is  described  under  the  name  Cerro  de  la  Cabeza,  and  a  picture  of  it  is 
given  in  plate  17  of  said  report.     It  is  called  "  Cabezon  Pk."  on  the  accompanying 
map. 

129.  To  the  south  and  west  of  the  San  Mateo  Mountains  there  is  a  great  plain 
of  lava  rock  of  geologically  recent  origin,  which  fills  the  valley  and  presents  plainly 
the  appearance  of  having  once  been  flowing.     The  rock  is  dark  and  has  much 
resemblance  to  coagulated  blood.     This   is   the   material  which,  the  Navahoes 
think,  was  once  the  blood  of  Ye'itso.       In  some  places  it  looks  as  if  the  blood 
were  suddenly  arrested,  forming  high  cliffs;  here  the  war  god  is  supposed  to  have 


Notes.  235 

stopped  the  flow  with  his  knife.     Plate  VI.  shows  this  lava  in  the  valley  of  the 
Rio  San  Jose,  from  a  photograph  supplied  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey. 

130.  Version  A  adds  some  particulars  to  the  account  of  the  return  of  the  brothers 
to  their  home,  after  their  encounter  with  Yeitso.     They  first  went  to  Azfhi,  the 
place  at  which  they  descended  when  they  came  from  the  sky,  and  then  to  Kainipehi. 
On  their  way  home  they  sang  twenty  songs  —  the  Nidb/atsogisin  —  which  are  sung 
to-day  in  the  rites  of  /tosoni  ^a/a/.     Near  Dsi/nao/i/,  just  at  daybreak,  they  met 
//astreyal/i   and  //asUe//o^an,  who  embraced  them,  addressed  them  as  grand- 
children, sang  two  songs,  now  belonging  to  the  rites,  and  conducted  the  young 
heroes  to  their  home. 

131.  T'e-el-ge/,  7~e-el-ge'-/i  and  Z?el-ge7  are  various  pronunciations  of  the  name 
of  this  monster.     In  the  songs  he  is  sometimes  called  BT-/e-el-ge-/i,  which  is  merely 
prefixing  the  personal  pronoun  "  his  "  to  the  name.     The  exact  etymology  has  not 
been  determined.     The  name  has  some  reference  to  his  horns ;  te,  or  /e,  meaning 
horns,  and  bi/e,  his  horns,  in  Navaho.     All  descriptions  of  this  ana"ye  are  much 
alike.     His  father,  it  is  said,  was  an  antelope  horn. 

132.  Arabis  holbbllii  (Hornemann),    a-ze-/a-*/fl-/£-he,   "scattered"    or   "lone 
medicine."     The  plants  grow  single  and  at  a  distance  from  one  another,  not  in 
beds  or  clusters.     (See  "  Navajo  Names  for  Plants,"  312  p.  770.) 

133.  Version  A  relates  that  they  sang,  while  at  work  on  these  kethawns,  six 
songs,  which,  under  the  name  of  Atsds  Bigi'n,  or  Feather  Songs,  are  sung  now  in 
the  rite  of  hozom  7^a/a/. 

134.  Version  A  says  that  the  horns  of  TeelgeV  were  like  those  of  an  antelope, 
and  that  Naydnezgani  cut  off  the  short  branch  of  one  as  an  additional  trophy. 

135.  Tse'na'-ha-le.     These  mythic  creatures,  which  in  a  previous    paper,  "A 
Part  of  the  Navajos'  Mythology,"  306  the  author  calls  harpies,  from  their  analogy 
to  the  harpies  of  Greek  mythology,  are  believed  in  by  many  tribes  of  the  South- 
west.    According  to  /^a/a/i  Nez  they  were  the  offspring  of  a  bunch   of  eagle 
plumes. 

136.  Tse'-bi-/a-i,  or  Winged  Rock,  is  a  high,  sharp  pinnacle  of  dark  volcanic 
rock,  rising  from  a  wide  plain  in  the  northwestern  part  of  New  Mexico,  about  12 
miles  from  the  western  boundary  of  the  Territory,  and  about  20  miles  from  the 
northern   boundary.     The  Navahoes  liken  it  to  a  bird,  and  hence  the  name  of 
Winged  Rock,  or  more  literally  Rock,  Its  Wings.     The  whites  think  it  resembles 
a  ship  with  sails  set,  and  call  it  Ship  Rock.     Its  bird-like  appearance  has  probably 
suggested  to  the  Navahoes  the  idea  of  making  it  the  mythic  home  of  the  bird-like 
Tse'na'hale. 

137.  There  are  many  instances  in  Navaho  language  and  legend  where,  when 
two  things  somewhat  resemble  each  other,  but  one  is  the  coarser,  the  stronger,  or 
the  more  violent,  it  is  spoken  of  as  male,  or  associated  with  the  male ;  while  the 
finer,  weaker,  or  more  gentle  is  spoken  of  as  female,  or  associated  with  the  female. 
Thus  the  turbulent  San  Juan  River  is  called,  by  the  Navaho,  Tb'baka,  or  Male 
Water;  while  the  placid  Rio  Grande  is  known  as  TVbaad,   or  Female  Water. 
A  shower  accompanied  by  thunder  and  lightning  is  called  nfltsabaka,  or  male 
rain  ;  a  shower  without  electrical  display  is  called  mltsabaad,  or  female  rain.     In 
the  myth  of  Na^f nesMani  the  mountain  mahogany  is  said  to  be  used  for  the  male 
sacrificial  cigarette,  and  the  cliff  rose  for  the  female.     These  two  shrubs  are  much 
alike,  particularly  when  in  fruit  and  decked  with  long  plumose  styles,  but  the 
former  (the  "  male  ")  is  the  larger  and  coarser  shrub.     In  the  myth  of  Dsi/yi'  Neydni 
another  instance  may  be  found  where  mountain  mahogany  is  associated  with  the 
male,  and  the  cliff  rose  with  the  female.     Again,  in  the  myth  of  Na/fnesMani  a 
male  cigarette  is  described  as  made  of  the  coarse  sunflower,  while  its  associated 
female  is  said  to  be  made  of  the  allied  but  more  slender  Verbesina.     Instances  of 


236  Notes. 

this  character  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely.  On  this  principle  the  north  is 
associated  with  the  male,  and  the  south  with  the  female,  for  two  reasons  :  i  st, 
cold,  violent  winds  blow  from  the  north,  while  gentle,  warm  breezes  blow  from  the 
south  ;  2d,  the  land  north  of  the  Navaho  country  is  more  rough  and  mountainous 
than  the  land  in  the  south.  In  the  former  rise  the  great  peaks  of  Colorado,  while 
in  the  latter  the  hills  are  not  steep  and  none  rise  to  the  limit  of  eternal  snow.  A 
symbolism  probably  antecedent  to  this  has  assigned  black  as  the  color  of  the  north 
and  blue  as  the  color  of  the  south ;  so,  in  turn,  black  symbolizes  the  male  and 
blue  the  female  among  the  Navaho.  (From  "  A  Vigil  of  the  Gods.")328 

138.  Version  A.  —  The  young  birds  were  the  color  of  a  blue  heron,  but  had  bills 
like  eagles.     Their  eyes  were  as  big  as  a  circle  made  by  the  thumbs  and  middle 
fingers  of  both  hands.     Nayenezgani  threw  the  birds  first  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cliff  and  there  metamorphosed  them. 

139.  The  etymology  of  the  word  T^e'-da-ni  (Englished,  chedany)  has  not  been 
determined.     It  is  an  expression  denoting  impatience  and  contempt. 

140.  On  being  asked  for  the  cause  of  this  sound,  the  narrator  gave  an  explana- 
tion which  indicated  that  the  "  Hottentot  apron  "  exists  among  American  Indians. 
The  author  has  had  previous  evidence  corroborative  of  this. 

141.  Version  B  here  adds:  "Giving  up   her  feathers  for  lost,  she  turned  her 
attention  to  giving  names  to  the  different  kinds  of  birds  as  they  flew  out,  —  names 
which  they  bear  to  this  day  among  the  Navajos,  —  until  her  basket  was  empty." 

142.  Tse'-/a-^o-tJ-Il-/d'-/i  is  said  to  mean  He  (Who)  Kicks  (People)  Down  the 
Cliff.     Some  pronounce  the  name  Tse'-/a-yI-t.ril-/£'-/i. 

143.  In  versions  A  and  B,  the  hero  simply  cuts  the  hair  of  the  monster  and  allows 
the  latter  to  fall  down  the  cliff. 

144.  Na-tsls-a-dn  is  the  Navaho  Mountain,  an  elevation  10,416  feet  high,    ten 
miles  south  of  the  junction  of  the  Colorado  and  San  Juan  rivers,  in  the  State 
of  Utah. 

145.  Thus  does  the  Navaho  story-teller  weakly  endeavor  to  score  a  point  against 
his  hereditary  enemy,  the  Pah  Ute.     But  it  is  poor  revenge,  for  the  Pah  Ute  is  said 
to  have  usually  proved  more  than  a  match  for  the  Navaho  in  battle.     In  Version 
A,  the  young  are  transformed  into  Rocky  Mountain  sheep ;  in  Version  B,  they 
are  changed  into  birds  of  prey. 

146.  This  is  the  place  at  which  the  BTnaye  A^ani  were  born,  as  told  in  par. 
203.     The  other  monsters  mentioned  in  Part  II.  were  not  found  by  Nayenezgani 
at  the  places  where  they  were  said  to  be  born. 

147.  Other  versions  make  mention,  in  different  places,  of  a  Salt  Woman,  or  god- 
dess of  salt,  Ajihi  Estsan ;  but  the  version  of  //a/a7i  Nez  does  not  allude  to  her. 
Version  A  states  that  she  supplied  the  bag  of  salt  which  Nayenezgani  carried  on  his 
expedition. 

148.  TsT-di/-/d-i  means  shooting  or  exploding  bird.     The  name  comes,  perhaps, 
from  some  peculiarity  of  this  bird,  which  gives  warning  of  the  approach  of  an 
enemy. 

149.  Hos-t6-di  is  probably  an  onomatopoetic  name  for  a  bird.     It  is  said  to  be 
sleepy  in  the  daytime  and  to  come  out  at  night. 

150.  Version  B  says  that  scalps  were  the  trophies. 

151.  In  all  versions  of  this  legend,  but  two  hero  gods  or  war  gods  are  promi- 
nently mentioned,  viz.,  Naydnezgani  and  Tb'badsrlstrfni ;  but  in  these  songs  four 
names  are  given.     This  is  to  satisfy  the  Indian  reverence  for  the  number  four,  and 
the  dependent  poetic  requirement  which  often  constrains  the  Navaho  poet  to  put 
four  stanzas  in  a  song.     Zeyaneyani,  or  Reared  Beneath  the  Earth  (par.  286),  is 
an  obscure  hero  whose  only  deed  of  valor,  according  to  this  version  of  the  legend, 
was  the  killing  of  his  witch  sister  (par.  281).     The  deeds  of  Tsowenatlehi,  or  the 


Notes.  237 

Changing  Grandchild,  are  not  known  to  the  writer.  Some  say  that  Zeyaneyani 
and  Tsdwenatlehi  are  only  other  names  for  Nayenezgani  and  Tb'badsrlstrfni ;  but 
the  best  authorities  in  the  tribe  think  otherwise.  One  version  of  this  legend  says 
that  Estsanatlehi  hid  her  children  under  the  ground  when  Yeitso  came  seeking  to 
devour  them.  This  may  have  given  rise  to  the  idea  that  one  of  these  children 
was  called,  also,  Reared  Beneath  the  Earth. 

152.  The  following  are  the  names  of  places  where  pieces  were  knocked  off  the 
stone :  — 

Bisda,  Edge  of  Bank. 

Tb'kohokadi,  Ground  Level  with  Water.  (Here  Nayenezgani  chased  the  stone 
four  times  in  a  circle ;  the  chips  he  knocked  off  are  there  yet.) 

Daatsfn^/aheo/,  Floating  Corn-cob. 

Nita/i's,  Cottonwood  below  Ground. 

6a.ydestsa',  Gaping  Bear. 

BeiklMatyel,  Broad  Lake. 

Nans-o^ilin,  Make  Nanzoz  Sticks. 

AkiW^/ahalkaf,  Something  White  on  Top  (of  something  else). 

Anadsi/,  Enemy  Mountain. 

-5"a\rbT/o',  Bear  Spring  (Fort  Wingate). 

Tse'tyeliskiW,  Broad  Rock  Hill. 

T.yadiMbitin,  Antelope  Trail  Ascending. 

KInhitsdi,  Much  Sumac. 

Tj-u^kai  (Chusca  Knoll). 

ZestnWelkai,  Streaks  of  White  Ashes. 

Dsi/naodsi/,  Mountain  Surrounded  by  Mountains  (Carrizo  Mountains.). 

Tlsnaspas,  Circle  of  Cottonwood. 

The  above,  it  is  said,  are  all  places  where  constant  springs  of  water  (rare  in  the 
Navaho  land)  are  to  be  found.  Some  are  known  to  be  such.  This  gives  rise  to 
the  idea  expressed  in  note  8.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  Navahoes  believe  in 
many  of  the  Tieholtsodi.  Probably  every  constant  spring  or  watercourse  has  its 
water  god. 

153.  Version  A  adds  an  account  of  a  wicked  woman  who  dwelt  at  K\'r\dot\\z 
and  slew  her  suitors.     Nayenezgani  kills  her.     It  also  adds  an  account  of  vicious 
swallows  who  cut  people  with  their  wings.     Version  B  omits  the  encounter  with 
6a.malkahi  and  Tse'nagahi. 

154.  Possibly  this  refers  to  Pueblo  legends. 

155.  Version  B,  which   gives  only  a  very  meagre  account  of  this  destructive 
storm,  mentions  only  one  talisman,  but  says  that  songs  were  sung  and  dances  per- 
formed over  this. 

156.  Such  pillars  as  the  myth  refers  to  are  common  all  over  the  Navaho  land. 

157.  Version  A  makes  Nayenezgani  say  here:  "  I  .have  been  to  ni'im/ahazlago 
(the  end  of  the  earth);  to  /o'm^/ahazlago  (the  end  of  the  waters);  to  yain^/ahazlago 
(the  end  of  the  sky)  ;  and  to  dsT/indahazlago  (the  end  of  the  mountains),  and  I 
have  found  none  that  were  not  my  friends." 

158.  Pas-2-Tn-i  is  the  name  given  by  the  Navahoes  to  the  hard  mineral  substance 
which  they  use  to  make  black  beads,  and  other  sacrifices  to  the  gods  of  the  north. 
Specimens  of  this  substance  have  been  examined  by  Prof.  F.  W.  Clark  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  who  pronounces  it  to  be  a  fine  bituminous  coal 
of  about  the  quality  of  cannel  coal ;  so  it  is,  for  convenience,  called  cannel  coal 
in  this  work.     It  is  scarce  in  the  Navaho  land  and  is  valued  by  the  Indians. 

159.  This  refers  to  large  fossil  bones  found  in  many  parts  of  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico. 

1 60.  //a-^a-//o-ni-ge-^i-ne'   (Mirage    People),  //a-^/a-^o-nes-/i^/Wi-ne'   (Ground- 


238 


Notes. 


heat  People),  /fada/fonesri^  is  translated  ground-heat,  for  want  of  a  more  con- 
venient term.  It  refers  to  the  waving  appearance  given  to  objects  in  hot  weather, 
observed  so  frequently  in  the  arid  region,  and  due  to  varying  refraction  near  the 
surface  of  the  ground. 

161.  The  ceremony  at  Trfnli  (Chinlee  Valley)  was  to  celebrate  the  nubility  of 
Estsanatlehi.     Although  already    a  mother,  she  was  such  miraculously,  and  not 
until  this  time  did  she  show  signs  of  nubility.     Such  a  ceremony  is  performed  for 
every  Navaho  maiden  now.     The  ceremony  at  San  Francisco  Mountain  occurred 
four  days  after  that  at  Tsmli.     It  is  now  the  custom  among  the  Navahoes  to  hold 
a  second  ceremony  over  a  maiden  four  days  after  the  first.     On  the  second  cere- 
mony with  Estsanatlehi  they  laid  her  on  top  of  the  mountain  with  her  head  to  the 
west,  because  she  was  to  go  to  the  west  to  dwell  there.     They  manipulated  her 
body  and  stretched  out  her  limbs.     Thus  she  bade  the  people  do,  in  future,  to  all 
Navaho  maidens,  and  thus  the  Navahoes  do  now,  in  the  ceremony  of  the  fourth 
day,  when  they  try  to  mould  the  body  of  the  maiden  to  look  like  the  perfect  form  of 
Estsdnatlehi.     Version  A  makes  the  nubile  ceremony  occur  before  the  child  was 
born. 

162.  DsI/-/K2rfn,    or    Dsi//Lsn('ni    (Black    Mountain),    is    an     extensive   mesa   in 
Apache  County,  Arizona.     The  pass  to  which  the  myth  refers  is  believed  to  be 
that  named,  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Marsh  Pass,  which  is  about 
60  miles  north  of  the  Moki  villages.     The  name  of  the  mesa  is  spelled  "  Zilh-le- 
jini  "  on  the  accompanying  map. 

163.  TV-ye't-li  (Meeting  Waters)  is  the  junction  of  two  important  rivers  some- 
where in  the  valley  of  the  San  Juan  River,  in  Colorado  or  Utah.     The  precise 
location  has  not  been  determined.     It  is  a  locality  often  mentioned  in  the  Navaho 
myths.     (See  par.  477.) 

164.  The  following  appeared  in  the  "  American  Naturalist "  for  February,  1887 :  — 
"  In  the  interesting  account  entitled  '  Some  Deities  and  Demons  of  the  Nava- 

jos,'  by  Dr.  W.  Matthews,  in  the  October  issue  of  the  "  Naturalist "  (note  306),  he 
mentions  the  fact  that  the  warriors  offered  their  sacrifices  at  the  sacred  shrine  of 
Thoyetli,  in  the  San  Juan  Valley.  He  says  that  the  Navajos  have  a  tradition 
that  the  gods  of  war,  or  sacred  brothers,  still  dwell  at  Thoyetli,  and  their  reflec- 
tion is  sometimes  seen  on  the  San  Juan  River.  Dr.  Matthews  is  certain  the  last 
part  is  due  to  some  natural  phenomenon.  The  following  account  seems  to  furnish 
a  complete  explanation  of  this  part  of  the  myth.  Several  years  ago  a  clergyman, 
while  travelling  in  the  San  Juan  Valley,  noticed  a  curious  phenomenon  while 
gazing  down  upon  the  San  Juan  River  as  it  flowed  through  a  deep  canyon.  Mists 
began  to  arise,  and  soon  he  saw  the  shadows  of  himself  and  companions  reflected 
near  the  surface  of  the  river,  and  surrounded  by  a  circular  rainbow,  the  '  Circle  of 
Ulloa.'  They  jumped,  moved  away,  and  performed  a  number  of  exercises,  to  be 
certain  that  the  figures  were  their  reflections,  and  the  figures  responded.  There 
was  but  slight  color  in  the  rainbow.  Similar  reflections  have  no  doubt  caused  the 
superstitious  Indians  to  consider  these  reflections  as  those  of  their  deities."  —  G. 
A.  Brennan,  Roseland,  Cook  County,  Illinois,  January  12,  1887. 

165.  Tse'-gi-hi  is  the  name  of  some  canyon,  abounding  in  cliff-dwellings,  north 
of  the  San  Juan  River,  in  Colorado  or  Utah.  The  author  knows  of  it  only  from 
description.  It  is  probably  the  McElmo  or  the  Mancos  Canyon.  It  is  supposed 
by  the  Navahoes  to  have  been  a  favorite  home  of  the  y£i  or  gods,  and  the  ruined 
cliff-houses  are  supposed  to  have  been  inhabited  by  the  divine  ones.  The  cliff 
ruins  in  the  Chelly  Canyon,  Arizona,  are  also  supposed  to  have  been  homes  of  the 
gods;  in  fact,  the  gods  are  still  thought  to  dwell  there  unseen.  Chelly  is  but 
a  Spanish  orthography  of  the  Navaho  name  Tsd'gi,  Tsdyi  or  Ts6yi.  When  a 
Navaho  would  say  "  in  the  Chelly  Canyon,"  he  says  Tsdyigi.  The  resemblance 


Notes.  239 

of  this  expression  to  Tse'gihi  (g  and  y  being  interchangeable)  led  the  author  at 
first  to  confound  the  two  places.  Careful  inquiry  showed  that  different  localities 
were  meant.  Both  names  have  much  the  same  meaning  (Among  the  Cliffs,  or 
Among  the  Rocks). 

1 66.  The  expression  used  by  the  story-teller  was,  "  seven  times  old   age  has 
killed."      This  would  be   freely  translated  by  most  Navaho-speaking  whites  as 
"  seven  ages  of  old  men."     The  length  of  the  age  of  an  old  man  as  a  period  of 
time  is  variously  estimated  by  the  Navahoes.     Some  say  it  is  a  definite  cycle  of 
102  years,  —  the  same  number  as  the  counters  used  in  the  game  of  kesitrJ  (note 
176) ;  others  say  it  is  "  threescore  years  and  ten;  "  while  others,  again,  declare  it 
to  be  an  indefinite  period  marked  by  the  death  of  some  very  old  man  in  the  tribe. 
This  Indian  estimate  would  give,  for  the  existence  of  the   nuclear  gens  of  the 
Navaho   nation,  a  period  of  from  five  hundred  to  seven  hundred  years.     In  his 
excellent  paper  on  the  "Early  Navajo  and  Apache,"  301  Mr.  F.  W.  Hodge  arrives 
at  a  much  later  date  for  the  creation  or  first  mention  of  the  Tse'd^inki'ni  by  com- 
puting the  dates  given  in  this  legend,  and  collating  the  same  with  the  known  dates 
of  Spanish-American    history.     He  shows  that  many  of  the  dates  given  in  this 
story  are  approximately  correct.     While  the  Tse'ds'inki'ni  is,  legendarily,  the  nu- 
clear gens  of  the  Navahoes,  it  does  not  follow,  even  from  the  legend,  that  it  is  the 
oldest  gens;  for  the^/ine'  ^igfni,  or  holy  people  (see  note  92),  are  supposed  to  have 
existed  before  it  was  created. 

167.  Tse'-d^in-ki'n-i  is  derived  from  tse'  (rock),  d^m  (black,  dark),  and  kin  (a 
straight-walled  house,  a  stone  or  adobe  house,  not  a  Navaho  hut  or  hogbri).     Tse' 
is  here  rendered  "  cliffs,"  because  the  house  or  houses  in  question  are  described  as 
situated  in  dark  cliffs.     Like  nearly  all  other  Navaho  gentile  names,  it  seems  to  be 
of  local  origin. 

1 68.  The  rock  formations  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  are  often  so  fantastic 
that  such  a  condition  as  that  here  described  might  easily  occur. 

169.  The  author  has  expressed  the  opinion  elsewhere  818  that  we  need  not  sup- 
pose from  this  passage  that  the  story-teller  wishes  to  commiserate  the  Tse'tlani 
on  the  inferiority  of  their  diet;  he  may  merely  intend  to  show  that  his  gens  had 
not  the  same  taboo  as  the  elder  gentes.     The  modern  Navahoes  do  not  eat  ducks 
or  snakes.     Taboo  is  perhaps  again  alluded  to  in  par.  394,  where  it  is  said  that 
the  TM'paha  ate  ducks  and  fish.     The  Navahoes  do  not  eat  fish,  and  fear  fish  in 
many  ways.     A  white  woman,  for  mischief,  emptied  over  a  young  Navaho  man  a 
pan  of  water  in  which  fish  had  been  soaked.     He  changed  all  his  clothes  and 
purified  himself  by  bathing.     Navahoes  have  been  known  to  refuse  candies  that 
were  shaped  like  fish. 

170.  A  common  method  of  killing  deer  and  antelope  in  the  old  days  was  this: 
They  were  driven  on  to  some  high,  steep-sided,  jutting  mesa,  whose  connection 
with  the  neighboring  plateau  was  narrow  and  easily  guarded.     Here  their  retreat 
was  cut  off,  and  they  were  chased  until  constrained  to  jump  over  the  precipice. 

171.  The   name  7b{-db-k<5#-#i    is  derived   from   two  words,  —  /o'  (water)  and 
dok6nz  (here  translated  saline).      The  latter  word  is  used  to  denote  a  distinct  but 
not  an  unpleasant  taste.     It  has  synonyms  in  other  Indian  languages,  but  not  in 
English.     It  is  known  only  from   explanation  that  the   water  in  question  had  a 
pleasant  saline  taste. 

172.  The  arrow-case  of  those  days  is  a  matter  of  tradition  only.     The  Indians 
say  it  looked  something  like  a  modern  shawl-strap. 

173.  In  the  name  of  this  gens  we  have  possibly  another  evidence  of  a  former 
existence  of  totemism  among  some  of  the  Navaho  gentes.     7/ajkdn-#atso  may 
mean  that  many  people  of  the  Yucca  gens  lived  in  the  land,  and  not  that  many 
yuccas  grew  there. 


240  Notes. 

174.  From  the  description  given  of  this  tree,  which,  the  Indians  say,  still  stands, 
it  seems  to  be  a  big  birch-tree. 

175.  Tsm-a-d^i'-ni  is  derived  by  double  syncopation  from  tsin  (wood),  na  (hori- 
zontal), d^m  (dark  or  black),  and  the  suffix  ni.     The  word  for  black,  dzni,  in  com- 
pounds is  often  pronounced  z\n.     There  is  a  place  called  Tsi'nadMn  somewhere 
in  Arizona,  but  the  author  has  not  located  it. 

176.  Ke-si-Ue,  or  kesitre,  from  ke  (moccasins),  and  sitre  (side  by  side,  in  a  row),  is 
a  game  played  only  during  the  winter  months,  at  night  and  inside  of  a  lodge.     A 
multitude  of  songs,  and  a  myth  of  a  contest  between  animals  who  hunt  by  day  and 
those  who  hunt  by  night,  pertain  to  the  game.     Eight  moccasins  are  buried  in  the 
ground  (except  about  an  inch  of  their  tops),  and  they  are  filled  with  earth  or  sand. 
They  are  placed  side  by  side,  a  few  inches  apart,  in  two  rows,  —  one  row  on  each 
side  of  the  fire.     A  chip,  marked  black  on  one  side  (to  represent  night),  is  tossed 
up  to  see  which  side  should  begin  first.     The  people  of  the  lucky  side  hold  up  a 
screen  to  conceal  their  operations,  and  hide  a  small  stone  in  the  sand  in  one  of 
the  moccasins.     When  the  screen  is   lowered,  one  of  the  opponents  strikes  the 
moccasins  with  a  stick,  and  guesses  which  one  contains  the  stone.     If  he  guesses 
correctly,  his  side  takes  the  stone  to  hide  and  the  losers  give  him  some  counters. 
If  he  does  not  guess  correctly,  the  first  players  retain  the  stone  and  receive  a  cer- 
tain number  of  counters.     (See  note  88.)     A  better  account  of  this  game,  with  an 
epitome  of  the  myth  and  several  of  the  songs,  has  already  been  published.-"16 

177.  There  are  many  allusions   in  the  Navaho  tales  to  the  clothing  of  this  peo- 
ple before  the  introduction  of  sheep  (which  came  through  the  Spanish  invaders), 
and  before  they  cultivated  the  art  of  weaving,  which  they  probably  learned  from 
the  Pueblo  tribes,  although  they  are  now  better  weavers  than  the  Pueblos.     The 
Navahoes  represent  themselves  as  miserably  clad  in  the  old  days  (par.  466),  and 
they  tell  that  many  of  their  arts  were  learned  from  other  tribes.     (Par.  393.) 

178.  Allusion  is  here  made  to  the  material  used  by  Indians  on  the  backs  of 
bows,  for  bow-strings,  as  sewing-thread,  and  for  many  other  purposes,  which  is 
erroneously  called  "  sinew  "  by  ethnographers  and  travellers.    It  is  not  sinew  in  the 
anatomical  or  histological  sense  of  the  word.     It  is  yellow  fibrous  tissue  taken 
from  the  dorsal  region,  probably  the  aponeurosis  of  the  trapezius. 

179.  The  Navaho  country  abounds  in  small  caves  and  rock-shelters,  some  of 
which  have  been  walled  up  by  these  Indians  and  used  as  store-houses  (but  not  as 
dwellings,  for  reasons   elsewhere   given,  par.  26).     Such  store-houses  are  in  use 
at  this  day. 

1 80.  The  legends  represent  the  Navahoes  not  only  as  poorly  clad  and  poorly 
fed  in  the  old  days,  but  as   possessing   few  arts.      Here  and  elsewhere  in  the 
legends  it  is  stated  that  various  useful  arts  became  known  to  the  tribe  through 
members  of  other  tribes  adopted  by  the  Navahoes. 

181.  Another  version  states  that  when  the  Western  immigrants  were  travelling 
along  the  western  base  of  the  Lukachokai  Mountains,  some  wanted  to  ascend  the 
Tse'inlm  valley ;  but  one  woman  said,  "  No ;  let  us  keep  along  the  base  of  the 
mountain."     From  this  they  named  her  Base  of  Mountain,  and  her  descendants 
bear  that  name  now.     This  explanation  is  less  likely  than  that  in  par.  393. 

182.  This  statement  should  be  accepted  only  with  some  allowance  for  the  fact 
that  it  was  made  by  one  who  was  of  the  gens  of  TM'paha. 

183.  Punishments  for  adultery  were  various  and  severe  among  many  Indian 
tribes  in  former  days.     Early  travellers  mention  amputation  of  the  nose  and  other 
mutilations,  and  it  appears  that  capital  punishment  for  this  crime  was  not  uncom- 
mon.    If  there  is  any  punishment  for  adultery  among  the  Navahoes  to-day,  more 
severe  than  a  light  whipping,  which  is  rarely  given,  the  author  has  never  heard  of 
it.     The  position  of  the  Navaho  woman  is  such  that  grievous  punishments  would 


Notes.  241 

not  be  tolerated.  In  the  days  of  Gd^tso  even,  it  would  seem  they  were  scarcely 
less  protected  than  now,  for  then  the  husband,  although  a  potent  chief,  did  not 
dare  to  punish  his  wives  —  so  the  legend  intimates  —  until  he  had  received  the 
consent  of  their  relatives. 

184.  For  the  performance  of  these   nine-days'  ceremonies  the  Navahoes  now 
build  temporary  medicine-lodges,  which  they  use,  as  a  rule,  for  one  occasion  only. 
Rarely  is  a  ceremony  performed  twice  in  the  same  place,  and  there  is  no  set  day, 
as  indicated  by  any  phase  of  any  particular  lunation,  for  the  beginning  of  any 
great  ceremony.     Many   ceremonies   may  be   performed   only   during   the   cold 
months,  but  otherwise  the  time   for   performance   is   not  defined.     There  is   a 
tradition  that  their  customs  were  different  when  they  lived  in  a  compact  settle- 
ment on  the  banks  of  the  San  Juan  River  (before  they  became  shepherds  and  scat- 
tered over  the  land) ;  that  they  then  had  permanent  medicine-lodges,  and  exact 
dates  for  the  performance  of  some  ceremonies.     In  paragraph  411  we  hear  of  a 
ceremony  which  lasted  all  winter. 

185.  For  a  description  of  this  ceremony  see  "  The  Mountain  Chant:  a  Navaho 
Ceremony,"  314  by  the  author.     It  is  an  important  healing  ceremony  of  nine  days' 
duration.     The  rites,  until  the  last  night,  are  held  in  the  medicine-lodge  and  are 
secret.     Just  after  sunset  on  the  last  day,  a  great  round  corral,  or  circle  of  ever- 
green branches,  is  constructed,  called  i/ndsdMn,  or  the  dark  circle  of  branches. 
This  is  about  forty  paces  in  diameter,  about  eight  feet  high,  with  an   opening  in 
the  east  about  ten  feet  wide.    From  about  eight  P.  M.  on  the  last  night  of  the  cere- 
mony until  dawn  next  morning,  a  number  of  dances,  dramatic  shows,  medicine 
rites,  and  tricks  of  legerdemain  are  performed  in  this  corral,  in  the  presence  of  a 
large  group  of  spectators,  —  several   hundred  men,   women,  and   children.     No 
one  is  refused  admittance.     Fig.  37  shows  the  dark  circle  of  branches  as  it  ap- 
pears at  sunrise  when  the  rites  are  over,  and,  in  addition  to  the  original  opening 
in  the  east,  three  other  openings  have  been  made  in  the  circle.     Fig.  30  shows  the 
alii  (rite,  show,  or  ceremony)  of  nahika'i,  which  takes  place  on  this  occasion,  and 
it  is  designed  largely  for  the  entertainment  and  mystification  of  the  spectators. 
The  performers  march  around  (and  very  close  to)  the  great  central  fire,  which 
emits  an  intense  heat.     Their  skin  would  probably  be  scorched  if  it  were  not 
heavily  daubed  with  white  earth.     Each  actor  carries  a  short  wand,  at  the  tip  of 
which  is  a  ball  of  eagle-down.     This  ball  he  must  burn  off  in  the  fire,  and  then,  by 
a  simple  sleight-of-hand  trick,  seem  to  restore  the  ball  again  to  the  end  of  his 
wand.     When  this  is  accomplished,  he  rushes  out  of  the  corral,  trumpeting  like 
a  sand-hill   crane.     In  u  The  Mountain  Chant "  this  is  called  a  dance,  but  the 
movements  of  the  actors  are  not  in  time  to  music.     Nahika'i  signifies  "  it  becomes 
white  again,"  and  refers  to  the  reappearance  of  the  eagle-down.     The  show  is 
very  picturesque,  and  must  be  mystifying  to  simple  minds. 

1 86.  Tse'-^Tn-^/i-ai  signifies  Black  Rock  Standing  (like  a  wall).     It  might  mean 
an  artificial  wall  of  black  rock  ;  but  as  the  result   of  careful  inquiry  it  has  been 
learned  that  the  name  refers  to  a  locality  where  exists  the  formation  known  to 
geologists  as  trap-dyke.     It  cannot  be  averred  that  it  is  applied  to  all  trap-dyke. 

187.  Slaves  were  numerous  among  the  Navahoes,  and  slavery  was  openly  recog- 
nized by  them  until  1883,  when  the  just  and  energetic  agent,  Mr.  D.  M.  Riordan, 
did  much  to  abolish  it.     Yet   as  late  as   1893,  when  the  writer  was  last  in  the 
Navaho  country,  he  found  evidence  that  the  institution  still  existed,  though  very 
occultly,  and  to  a  more  limited  extent  than  formerly. 

1 88.  Some  translate  //ciltso  as  Yellow  Valley,  and  give  a  different  myth  to  ac- 
count for  the  name.     As  most  Navaho  gentile  names  are  undoubtedly  of  local 
origin,  there  may  be  a  tendency  to  make  all  gentile  names  accord  with  the  gen- 
eral rule. 


242  Notes. 

189.  The  word  here  translated  pet(/i«)  means  also  a  domestic  animal  and  a  per- 
sonal fetich.     (See  par.  63.) 

190.  Although  this  name,  Bi-^'-ni,  seems  so  much  like  that  of  Bftam  that  one 
might  think  they  were  but  variants  of  the  same  word,  they  are  undoubtedly  dis- 
tinct names  and  must  not  be  confounded. 

191.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  notable  landmark  called  by  the  whites  Sunset 
Peak,  which  is  about  ten  miles  east  of  San  Francisco  Peak,  in  Yavapai  County, 
Arizona.     Sunset  Peak  is  covered  with  dark  forests  nearly  to  its  summit.     The 
top  is  of  brilliant  red  rock  capped  by  a  paler  stratum,  and  it  has  the  appearance, 
at  all  hours  of  the  day,  of  being  lighted  by  the  setting  sun. 

192.  This  locality  is  in  Apache   County,  Arizona,  about  sixty  miles  from  the 
eastern  boundary  and  twelve  miles  from  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Territory. 
A  sharp  volcanic  peak,  6,825  feet  high  above  sea-level,  which  marks  the  place  from 
afar,  is  called  "  Agathla  Needle  "  on  the  maps  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  and  0n  the  accompanying  map,  which  was  compiled  from  the  government 
maps  by  Mr.  Frank  Tweedy  of  the  Geological  Survey. 

193.  The  Navahoes  are  aware  that  in  lands  far  to  the  north  there  are  kindred 
tribes  which  speak  languages  much  like  their  own.     They  have  traditions  that 
long  ago  some  of  their  number  travelled  in  search  of  these  tribes  and  found  them. 
These  distant  kinsmen  are  called  by  the  Navaho  Din&  Na^otldni,  or  Navahoes  in 
Another  Place. 

194.  A  version  has  been  recorded  which  says  that,  on  the  march,  one  woman 
loitered  behind  at  Deer  Spring  for  a  while,  as  if  loath  to  leave  ;  that  for  this  reason 
they  called  her  Deer  Spring,  and  that  her  descendants  became  the  gens  of  that 
name.     The  same  version  accounts  in  a  similar  manner  for  the  names  given  at 
the  magic  fountains.     The  women  did  not  call  out  the  names  of  the  springs,  but 
they  loitered  at  them. 

195.  The  story  of  the  Deer  Spring  People  affords,  perhaps,  the  best  evidence  in 
favor  of  the  former  existence  of  totemism  to  be  found  in  the  legend.     Assuming 
that  the  immigrants  from  the  west  had  once  totemic  names,  we  may  explain  this 
story  by  saying  that  it  was  people  of  the  Deer  gens  who  stayed  behind  and  gave 
their  name  to  the  spring  where  they  remained ;  that  in  the  course  of  time  they 
became  known  as  People  of  the  Deer  Spring ;  and  that,  as  they  still  retain  their 
old  name  in  a  changed  form,  the  story-teller  is  constrained  to  say  that  the  fate  of 
the  deer  is  not  known.     Perhaps  the  name  of  the  MaiASWme'  (par.  428)  may  be 
explained  in  somewhat  the  same  way.     (See  "The  Gentile  System  of  the  Navajo 
Indians,"  p.  io;.818) 

196.  The  more  proper  interpretation  of  //b-na-gd'-ni  seems  to  be  People  of  the 
Walking  Place,  from  ho  (locative),  na"ga  (to  walk),  and  ni  (people).     It  is  not  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that,  like  nearly  all  other  Navaho  gentile  names,  this  name 
has  a  local  meaning,  and  that  the  story  here  told  to  account  for  its  origin  is 
altogether  mythical. 

197.  This  episode  indicates  that  kindness  and  pity  are  sentiments  not  unknown 
to  the  Navahoes,  and  that  (though  there  are  many  thieves)  there  are  honest  men 
and  women  among  them. 

198.  Na-na^-/e'-2-m,  the  Navaho  name  for  the  Zuni  Indians,  is  said  to  be  derived 
from   and  (an  alien  or   an  enemy),  nas/e  (a  horizontal   stripe),  and  z\n  (black). 
Some  say  it  refers  to  the  way  the  Zunians  cut  their  hair,  —  "  bang  "  it,  —  straight 
across  the  forehead ;  others  say  it  is  the  name  of  a  locality. 

199.  Ki/z-a-d'-ni,  or  Km-ya-a'-ni,  means  People  of  the  High  Pueblo  House,  — 
the  high  wall   of   stone  or   adobe.     The   name   kmaa"'  might  with  propriety  be 
applied  to  any  one  of  hundreds  of  ruins  in  the  Navaho  country,  but  the  only  one 
to  which  the  name  is  known  to  be  given  is  a  massive  ruin  six  or  seven  stories  high 


Notes.  243 

in  Bernalillo  County,  New  Mexico,  about  seventeen  miles  in  a  northerly  direction 
from  Chaves  Station,  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad.  This  ruin  consists  of 
unusually  large  fragments  of  stone,  and  looks  more  like  a  ruined  European  castle 
than  other  old  Indian  dwellings.  It  seems  too  far  east  and  south,  and  too  far  away 
from  the  settlements  on  the  San  Juan,  where  the  western  immigrants  finished 
their  journey,  to  be  the  place,  as  some  say  it  is,  from  which  the  gens  of  Kmad'ni 
derived  its  name.  The  high  stone  wall  which  the  immigrants  passed  en  route, 
mentioned  in  par.  435  in  connection  with  the  gens  of  Kmad'ni,  may  be  the  place 
to  which  the  legend  originally  ascribed  the  origin  of  the  name.  There  are  many 
pueblo  remains  around  San  Francisco  Mountain.  The  name  is  written  "  Kin-ya- 
a-ni "  on  the  accompanying  map. 

200.  Plate  I.,  fig.  i,  shows  a  ydbaad,  or  female  ydi  or  goddess,  as  she  is  usually 
represented  in  the  dry-paintings.     The  following  objects  are  here  indicated :  (i) 
A  square  mask  or  domino,  which  covers  the  face  only  (see  fig.  28),  is  painted  blue, 
margined  below  with  yellow  (to  represent  the  yellow  evening  light),  and  elsewhere 
with  lines  of  red  and  black  (for  hair  above,  for  ears  at  the  sides),  and  has  downy 
eagle-feathers  on  top,  tied  on  with  white  strings ;  (2)  a  robe  of  white,  extending 
from  the  armpits  to  near  the  knees,  adorned  with  red  and  blue  to  represent  sun- 
beams, and  fringed  beautifully  at  the  bottom  ;  (3)  white  leggings  secured  with 
colored  garters  (such  as  Indians  weave);  (4)  embroidered  moccasins;  (5)  an  orna- 
mental sash  ;  (6)  a  wand  of  spruce-twigs  in  each  hand  (sometimes  she  is  shown 
with  spruce  in  one  hand  and  a  seed-basket  in  the  other) ;  (7)  jewels  —  ear-pendants, 
bracelets,  and  necklaces  —  of  turquoise  and  coral ;  (8)  long  strips  of  fox-skin  orna- 
mented at  the  ends,  which  hang  from  wrists  and  elbows.     (For  explanation  of  blue 
neck,  see  note  74.)     In  the  dance  of  the  nahika"i,  there  are  properly  six  ydbaad  in 
masquerade  ;  but  sometimes  they  have  to  get  along  with  a  less  number,  owing  to 
the  difficulty  in  finding  suitable  persons  enough  to  fill  the  part.     The  actors  are 
usually  low-sized  men  and  boys,  who  must  contrast  in  appearance  with  those  who 
enact  the  part  of  males.     Each  ydbaad  actor  wears  no  clothing  except  moccasins 
and  a  skirt,  which  is  held  on  with  a  silver-studded  belt ;  his  body  and  limbs  are 
painted  white  ;  his  hair  is  unbound  and  hangs  over  his  shoulders ;  he  wears  the 
square  female  mask  and  he  carries  in  each  hand  a  bundle  of  spruce  twigs,  which 
is  so  secured,  by  means  of  strings,  that  he  cannot  carelessly  let  it  fall.    Occasion- 
ally females  are  found  to  dance  in  this  character :  these  have  their  bodies  fully 
clothed  in  ordinary  woman's  attire ;  but  they  wear  the  masks  and  carry  the  wands 
just  as  the  young  men  do.     While  the  male  gods,  in  plate  I.,  except  Dsaha^bld^a, 
are  represented  with  white  arms,  the  female  is  depicted  with  yellow  arms.     This 
symbolism  is  explained  in  note  27. 

201.  The  exact    etymology  of  the  word  N  a-/i'n-es-Ma-ni  has  not  been  deter- 
mined.    The  idea  it  conveys  is :  He  who  teaches  himself,  he  who  discovers  for 
himself,  or  he  who  thinks  out  a  problem  for  himself.     We  find  the  verb  in  the 
expression  nasmi7in,  which  means,  "  Teach  me  how  to  do  it."     Here  the  second 
and  third  syllables  are  pronouns.     Although  the  hero  has  his  name  changed  after 
a  while,  the  story-teller  usually  continues  to  call  him  Na/fnes^ani  to  the  end  of 
the  story.     Often  he  speaks  of  him  as  the  man  or  the  Navaho. 

202.  The  eighteen  articles  here  referred  to  are  as  follows  :  i,  white  shell ;  2,  tur- 
quoise ;  3,  haliotis  shell ;  4,  pass-mi  or  cannel  coal;  5,  red  stone  ;  6,  feathers  of  the 
yellow  warbler  ;  7,  feathers  of  the  bluebird ;  8,  feathers  of  the  eagle ;  9,  feathers  of 
the  turkey;  10,  beard  of  the  turkey;  11,  cotton  string;  12,  i'yi^ezna" ;  n  13,  white 
shell  basket;  14,  turquoise  basket;  15,  haliotis  basket;  16,  pds^Ini  basket;  17, 
rock  crystal  basket ;  18,  sacred  buckskin.     (See  note  13.)     These  were  the  sacred 
articles  which  the  gods  were  said  to  require  in  the  myths  of  kldd-si  ^a/al  and 
atsdsid^e  ^a/a/.     In  the  myths  of  the  former  rite   they  are  mentioned  over  and 


244 


Notes. 


over  again,  to  the  weariness  of  the  hearer.  They  are  all  used  to-day  in  the  rites 
mentioned,  except  the  five  baskets.  Now  ordinary  sacred  baskets  (note  5,  par. 
28)  are  used  ;  the  jeweled  baskets  are  legendary  only. 

203.  The  knowledge  of  domestic  or  pet  turkeys  is  not   new  to  the  Navahoes. 
The  Pueblo  Indians  of  the  Southwest  have  kept  them  for  centuries.     The  Nava- 
hoes declare  that  in  former  years  they  kept  pet  turkeys  themselves ;   but  this 
seems  doubtful,  considering  their  mode  of  life.     A  conservative  Navaho  will  not 
now  eat  turkey  flesh,  although  he  will  not  hesitate  to  shoot  a  wild  turkey  to  sell  it 
to  a  white  man. 

204.  In  the  Navaho  dry-paintings  the  rainbow  is  usually  depicted  with  a  head 
at  one  end  and  legs  and  feet  at  the  other.     The  head  is  represented  with  a  square 
mask  to  show  that  it  is  a  goddess.     It  is  apotheosized.     (See  fig.  29.)     In  one  of 
the  dry-paintings  of  the  mountain  chant  the  rainbow  is  depicted  without  limbs  or 
head,  but  terminating  at  one  end  with  five  eagle-plumes,  at  the  other  end  with 
five  magpie-plumes,  and  decorated  near  its  middle  with  plumes  of  the  bluebird 
and  the  red-shafted  woodpecker.     (See  "The  Mountain  Chant,"  p.  450. 314) 

205.  This  magic  cup  figures  in  many  other  Navaho  myths.     (See   paragraph 
572.) 

206.  //as-tr£-ol-/o-i  means  the  Shooting  //astr^  (par.   78),  or  Shooting  Deity. 
As  the  personator  of  this  character  always  wears  a  female  mask  (fig.  28),  it  would 
seem  that  this  divinity  of  the  chase,  like  the  Roman  Diana,  is  a  goddess.     The 
personator  (a  man)  carries   a   quiver  of  puma   skin,   a   bow,  and   two   arrows. 
The  latter  are  made  of  reed,  are  headless,  and  are  feathered  with  the  tail  and 
wing  feathers  of  the  red-tailed  buzzard  (Buteo  borealis},  tied  on  with  fibrous  tissue. 
The  tips  of  the  arrows  are  covered  with  moistened  white  earth  and  moistened 
pollen.     Each  arrow  is  at  least  two  spans  and  a  hand's-breadth  long  ;  but  it  must 
be  cut  off  three  finger-widths  beyond  a  node,  and  to    accomplish   this  it  may  be 
made  a  little  longer  than  the  above  dimensions.     There  are  very  particular  rules 
about  applying  the  feathers.     The  man  who  personates  //astre'ol/oi,  in  a  rite  of 
succor  in  the  ceremony  of  the  night  chant,  follows  the  personators  of  the  War 
Gods.     While  the  patient  stands  on  a  buffalo  robe  in  front  of  the  medicine-lodge, 
the  actor  waves  with  the  right  hand  one  arrow  at  him,  giving  a  peculiar  call ;  then, 
changing  the  arrows  from  one  hand  to  another,  he  waves  the  other  arrow  at  the 
patient.     This   is   done  east,  south,  west,  and    north.     The  actor  repeats  these 
motions  around  the  lodge;   all  then   enter  the  lodge;    there  the  patient  says  a 
prayer,  and,  with  many  formalities,  presents  a  cigarette  to  the  personator  (after  he 
has  prayed  and  sacrificed  to  the  War  Gods).     The  three  masqueraders  then  go  to 
the  west  of  the  lodge  to  deposit  their  sacrifices  (that  of  //astr£ol/oi  is  put  under 
a  weed,  —  Gutierrezia  euthamice,  if  possible).     When  this  is  done,  they  take  off 
their  masks,  don  ordinary  blankets,  —brought  out  by  an  accomplice,  —  hide  the 
masks  under  their  blankets,  and  return   to   the  lodge   in  the  guise  of  ordinary 
Indians.     Some  speak  as  if  there  were  but  one  /fastre'ol/oi,  and  say  she  is  the 
wife  of  Naydnezgani.     Others  speak  as  if  there  were  one  at  every  place  where  the 
y£i  have  homes. 

207.  The  Ga>-as-ki-^i  are  a  numerous  race  of  divinities.     Their  chief  home  is 
at  a  place  called  £>epe7za/£a/i/  (Tries  to  Shoot  Sheep),  near  Tse'gfhi,  north  of  the 
San  Juan ;  but  they  may  appear  anywhere,  and,  according  to  the  myths,  are  often 
found  in  company  with  the  y&  and  other  gods.     They  belong  to  the  Mountain 
Sheep  People,  and  often  appear  to  man  in  the  form  of  Rocky  Mountain  sheep. 
In  the  myths  of  the  night  chant  it  is  said  that  they  captured  the  prophet  of  the 
rites,  took  him  to  their  home,  and  taught  him  many  of  the  mysteries  of  the  night 
chant.     In  the  treatment  accompanying  these,  the  tendo-achillis  of  a  mountain 
sheep  is  applied  to  an  aching  limb  to  relieve  pain;  the  horn  is  pressed  to  an 


Notes. 

aching  head  to  relieve  headache ;  and  water  from  the  sheep's  eye  is  used  for  sore 
eyes.  The  Ga«aski^/i  are  gods  of  plenty  and  harvest  gods.  A  masquerader, 
representing  one  of  these,  sometimes  appears  in  an  act  of  succor  about  sundown 
on  the  last  day  of  the  night  chant,  following  representatives  of  //astre'yal/i  and 
Dsaha^/old^d.  He  wears  the  ordinary  blue  mask  of  a  y^baka  with  the  fringe  of 
hair  removed.  He  carries  a  crown  or  headdress  made  of  a  basket  from  which  the 
bottom  has  been  cut,  so  that  it  may  fit  on  the  head.  The  basket  crown  is  adorned 
with  artificial  horns ;  it  is  painted  on  the  lower  surface  black,  with  a  zigzag  streak 
to  represent  lightning  playing  on  the  face  of  a  black  cloud ;  it  is  painted  red  on 
the  upper  surface  (not  shown  in  picture),  to  indicate  the  sunlight  on  the  other  side 
of  the  cloud  ;  and  it  is  decorated  with  radiating  feathers,  from  the  tail  of  the  red- 
shafted  woodpecker  (Colaptes  mexicanus],  to  represent  the  rays  of  the  sun  stream- 
ing out  at  the  edge  of  the  cloud.  The  god  is  crowned  with  the  storm-cloud.  The 
horns  on  the  crown  are  made  of  the  skin  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  (sewed 
with  yucca  fibre) ;  they  are  stuffed  with  hair  of  the  same,  or  with  black  wool ; 
they  are  painted  part  black  and  part  blue,  with  white  markings  ;  and  they  are 
tipped  with  eagle-feathers  tied  on  with  white  string.  On  his  back  the  actor  car- 
ries a  long  bag  of  buckskin,  which  is  empty,  but  is  kept  distended  by  means  of  a 
light  frame  made  of  the  twigs  of  aromatic  sumac,  so  as  to  appear  full ;  it  is  deco- 
rated at  the  back  with  eagle-plumes,  and  sometimes  also  with  the  plumes  of  the 
red-shafted  woodpecker ;  it  is  painted  on  the  sides  with  short  parallel  white  lines 
(12  or  1 6),  and  at  the  back  with  long  lines  of  four  colors.  This  bag  represents  a 
bag  of  black  cloud,  filled  with  produce  of  the  fields,  which  the  god  is  said  to  carry. 
The  cloudy  bag  is  so  heavy,  they  say,  that  the  god  is  obliged  to  lean  on  a  staff, 
bend  his  back,  and  walk  as  one  bearing  a  burden ;  so  the  personator  does  the 
same.  The  staff,  or  gij,  which  the  latter  carries,  is  made  of  cherry  (new  for  each 
occasion);  it  is  as  long  as  from  the  middle  of  the  left  breast  to  the  tip  of  the  out- 
stretched right  hand  ;  it  is  painted  black  with  the  charcoal  of  four  sacred  plants  ; 
it  bears  a  zigzag  stripe  in  white  to  represent  lightning,  and  it  is  trimmed  with 
many  turkey-feathers  in  two  whorls,  and  one  eagle-feather.  These  properties 
and  adornments  are  conventionally  represented  in  the  dry-paintings.  (See  plate  I., 
fig.  5.)  The  red  powder  thinly  sprinkled  over  the  eagle-plumes  at  the  back  repre- 
sents pollen.  The  cloud  bag  is  tied  on  the  god,  says  the  myth,  with  rainbows. 
The  yellow  horizontal  line  at  the  chin  in  the  picture  represents  a  yellow  line  on 
the  mask  which  symbolizes  the  evening  twilight.  The  actor  wears  a  collar  of  fox- 
skin  (indicated  by  mark  under  right  ear)  and  ordinary  clothing.  The  elaborate 
ceremony  of  succor  will  not  be  described  here.  Gd/zaskfafi  means  Humpback. 
The  name  is  sometimes  given  Nd^aski^/i. 

208.  The  only  Kl'ndb/te,  or  Ki'nafo/lTz  (Blue  House),  the  writer  knows   of  is  a 
ruined  pueblo  of  that  name  in  the  Chaco  Canyon ;  but  this  can  hardly  be  the  Blue 
House  referred  to  in  the  myth.     There  is  probably  another  ruin  of  this  name  on 
the  banks  of  the  San  Juan. 

209.  The  Dsaha^/old^a,  or  Fringe-mouths,  are  a  class  of  divine  beings  of  whom 
little  information  has  been  gained.     They  are  represented  in  the  rite  of  kledsi 
/^a/a/  by  sand-paintings,  and  by  masqueraders  decked  and  masked  as  shown  in 
the  pictures.     There  are  two  kinds,  —  Fringe-mouths  of  the  land  and  Fringe-mouths 
of  the  water  (plate  I.,  fig.  3),  or  T^astlatri  Dsaharfbld^d ;  the  latter  are  the  class 
referred  to  in  this  story.     The  zigzag  lines  on  their  bodies  shown  in  the  pictures 
represent  the  crooked  lightning,  which  they  used  as  ropes  to  lift  the  log.     On  the 
mask  (shown  in  the  dry-painting)  the  mouth   is  surrounded   by  white  radiating 
lines ;   hence  the  name   Fringe-mouths.     The   actor  who  represents  the  Fringe- 
mouths  of  the  land  has  one  half  of  his  body  and  one  half  of  his  mask  painted 
black,  the  other  half  red.     He  who  represents  the  Fringe-mouths  of  the  water 


246  Notes. 

has  his  body  painted  half  blue  and  half  yellow,  as  shown  in  plate  I.,  fig.  3.  Both 
wear  a  similar  mask  and  a  similar  crown  or  headdress.  The  crown  consists  of  a 
basket  from  which  the  bottom  has  been  cut,  so  that  it  may  fit  on  the  head ;  the 
lower  surface  is  painted  black,  to  represent  a  dark  cloud,  and  is  streaked  with 
white  to  represent  lightning ;  the  upper  surface  (not  shown  in  the  painting)  is 
colored  red,  to  represent  the  sunlight  of  the  back  of  the  cloud ;  and  feathers  of 
the  red-shafted  woodpecker  are  attached  to  the  edge,  to  represent  sunbeams.  So 
far,  this  crown  is  like  that  worn  by  Ga"/zaskfaTi  (note  207).  Ascending  from  the 
basket  crown  is  a  tripod  of  twigs  of  aromatic  sumac,  painted  white ;  between  the 
limbs  of  the  tripod  finely  combed  red  wool  is  laid,  and  a  downy  eagle-feather  tips 
each  stick.  The  actor  carries  in  his  left  hand  a  bow  adorned  with  three  eagle- 
plumes  and  two  tufts  of  turkey  feathers,  and  in  his  right  hand  a  white  gourd 
rattle,  sometimes  decorated  with  two  whorls  of  feathers.  His  torso,  arms,  and 
legs  are  naked,  but  painted.  He  wears  a  shirt  around  his  loins,  and  rich  neck- 
laces and  ear  pendants.  All  these  things  are  plainly  indicated  in  the  dry-paint- 
ings. The  fox-skin  collar  which  he  wears  is  vaguely  shown  by  an  appendage  at 
the  right  ear.  The  angles  of  the  white  lightning  on  the  chest  and  limbs  of  the 
actor  are  not  as  numerous  as  in  the  paintings. 

210.  Tie/m  are  ferocious  pets  that  belong  to  Tidholtsodi,  the  water  monster,  and 
guard  the  door  of  his  dwelling.     They  are  said  to  have  blue  horns. 

211.  Na-tsi-HV  a-k(5-di  (short   rainbow),    the   fragmentary  or  incomplete  rain- 
bow. 

212.  //as-tye'-.s'm-i  signifies  Black  //astre',  or  Black  God.     There  are  several  of 
them  (dwelling  at  Tsem'/fcoafl/yi/,  near  Tse'gihi),  but  the  description  will  be  given 
in  the  singular.     He  is  a  reserved,  exclusive  individual.     The  ydi  at  other  places 
do  not  visit  him  whenever  they  wish.    He  owns  all   fire;  he  was  the  first  who 
made  fire,  and  he  is  the  inventor  of  the  fire-drill.     It  is  only  on  rare  occasions  that 
he  is  represented  by  a  masquerader  at  a  ceremony.     When  it  is  arranged  to  give 
a  night  chant  without  the  public  dance  of  the  last  night  (and  this  seldom  occurs), 
Black  God  appears  in  a  scene  of  succor  ™  on  the  evening  of  the  ninth  day  in 
company  with  three  other  gods,—  Naydnezgani,  Tb'bad^istJini,  and  //astreol/oi. 
It  is  said  that  the  personator  is  dressed  in  black  clothes ;  wears    a  black  mask, 
with  white  marks  and  red  hair  on  it,  and  a  collar  of  fox-skin  ;  and  that  he  carries 
a  fire-drill  and  a  bundle  of  cedar-bark.     The  author  has  never  seen  //asts-e^mi 
represented  either  in  a  dry-painting  or  in  masquerade,  and  he  has  therefore  never 
witnessed  the  scene  or  ceremony  of  succor  referred  to.     This  ceremony,  which  is 
very  elaborate,  has  been  described  to  the  author  by  the  medicine-men.     The  actor 
has  to  be  well  paid  for  his  tedious  services,  which  occupy  the  whole  day  from  sun- 
rise to  sunset,  though  the  act  of  succor  lasts  but  a  few  minutes. 

213.  The  fire-drill  is  very  little  used  by  the  Navahoes  at   the  present  time, — 
matches  and  flint-and-steel  having  taken  its  place  ;  but  it  is  frequently  mentioned 
in  the  myths  and  is  employed  in  the  ceremonies.     Of  the  many  aboriginal  fire- 
drills,  described  and  depicted  by  Dr.  Walter  Hough   in  his   excellent  paper  on 
"  Fire-making  Apparatus,"  302  that  of  the  Navahoes  is  the  rudest.     It  looks  like  a 
thing  that  had  been  made  to  order. 

214.  Tsin-tli'-zi  signifies  hard,  brittle  wood. 

215.  It  is  probable  that  the  various  peculiar  acts  described  in  this  paragraph 
have  reference  to  agricultural  rites  still  practised,  or  recently  practised,  by  the 
Navahoes,  but  the  writer  has  never  witnessed  such  rites. 

216.  The    Navahoes  now  universally  smoke   cigarettes,  but   they  say  that  in 
ancient  days  they  smoked  pipes  made  of  terra-cotta.     Fragments  of  such  pipes 
are  often  picked  up  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.     The  cliff-dwellers  also  had 
pipes,  and  these  articles  are  still  ceremonially  used  by  the  Mokis.     The  Navahoes 


Notes.  247 

now  invariably,  in  ceremonies,  sacrifice  tobacco  in  the  form  of  cigarettes.  But 
cigarettes  are  not  new  to  the  Southwest:  they  are  found  in  ancient  caves  and  other 
long-neglected  places  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona. 

217.  Ni-no-ka-^I-ne' (People  up  on  the  Earth)  may  mean  people  living  up  on 
the  mountains,  in  contradistinction  to  those  dwelling  in  canyons  and  valleys ;  but 
other  tribes  use  a  term  of  similar  meaning  to  distinguish  the  whole  Indian  race 
from  the  whites  or  other  races,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  is  used  in  this  sense  here 
and  in  other  Navaho  myths.     The  people  whom   Na/i'nes/^ani  now  meets  are 
probably  supposed  to  be  supernatural,  and  not  Indians. 

218.  The  plants  mixed  with   the  tobacco  were  these  :  trohodsrflai',  jildtso  (my 
thumb),  a  poisonous  weed,  aze'bini',  and  azetloi.     It  has  not  been  determined  what 
plants  these  are  ;  but  the  Navaho  names  are  placed  on  record  as  possibly  assist- 
ing in  future  identification. 

219.  In  the  Navaho  ceremonies,  when  sacred  cigarettes  are  finished,  and  before 
they  are  deposited  as  offerings  to  the  gods,  they  are  symbolically  lighted  with  sun- 
beams.    (See  par.  94.)     The  statement  made  here,  that  the  hero  lighted  his  pipe 
with  the  sun,  refers  probably  to  this  symbolic  lighting. 

220.  Ke'tlo  is  a  name  given  to  any  medicine  used  externally,  i.  e.,  rubbed  on  the 
body.     Atsdsi  ke'tlo  means  the  liniment  or  wash  of  the  atsosi  ^a/a/,  or  feather 
ceremony.     It  is  also  called  atsosi  az£  (feather  medicine),  and  atsdsi  trf/  (feather 
herbs). 

221.  Ya-^i-^/i-ni/,  the  incense  of  the  Navaho  priests,  is  a  very  composite  sub- 
stance.    In  certain  parts  of  the  healing  ceremonies  it  is  scattered  on  hot  coals, 
which   are  placed  before  the  patient,  and  the  latter  inhales  actively  the   dense 
white  fumes    that  arise.     These  fumes,  which  fill  with  their  odor  the  whole  medi- 
cine-lodge, are  pungent,  aromatic,  and  rather  agreeable,  although  the  mixture  is 
said  to  contain  feathers.     The  author  has  obtained  a  formula  for  y£d\d\ml,  but 
has  not  identified  the  plants  that  chiefly  compose  it. 

222.  These  are  the  animals  he  raises  and  controls,  as  told  in  par.  527. 

223.  The  Navahoes  say  they  are   acquainted  with  four  kinds  of  wild  tobacco, 
and  use  them  in  their  rites.     Of  these  the  author  has  seen  and  identified  but  two. 
These  are  Nicotiana  attenuate  which  is  the  dsfVnaA),  or  mountain  tobacco  ;  and 
Nicotiana  palmeri,  which  is  the  dfepenafo,  or  sheep  tobacco.     N.  attenuata  grows 
widely  but  not  abundantly  in  the  mountains  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.     N. 
palmeri  is  rare  ;  the  writer  has  seen  it  growing  only  in  one  spot  in  the  Chelly  Can- 
yon.    It  has  not  been  learned  what  species  are  called  weasel  tobacco  and  cloud 
tobacco ;  but  one  or  more  of  the  three  species,  N.  rustica,  N.  quadrivalvis,  and 
N.  trigonophylla,  are  probably  known  to  the  Navahoes. 

224.  The  description  of  these  diseases   given  by  the  narrator  of  this  tale  is  as 
follows :    "  Patients  having  these  diseases  are  weak,  stagger,  and  lose  appetite ; 
then  they  go  to  a  sweat-house  and  take  an  emetic.     If  they  have  /I'tso,  or  the 
yellow  disease,  they  vomit   something  yellow   (bile  ?).     If   they   have   /i/-/ita,    or 
cooked  blood  disease,  they  vomit   something  like  cooked  blood.     Those  having 
the  yellows  have  often  yellow  eyes  and  yellow  skin.     7%a/lrV,  or  slime  disease, 
comes  from  drinking  foul  water  full  of  green  slime  or  little  fish  (tadpoles  ?).     Tsos, 
worms,  usually  come  from  eating  worms,  which  you  sometimes  do  without  know- 
ing it ;  but  tsflgo,  tapeworm,  comes  from  eating  parched  corn."     Probably  the 
last  notion  arises  from  the  slight  resemblance  of  the  joints  of  Tcenia  solium  to 
grains  of  corn,,     This  little  chapter  in  pathology  from  Ha/a7i  Natldi  is  hardly  in 
accordance  with  the  prevalent  theory  that  savages  regard  all  disease  as  of  de- 
moniac origin. 

225.  The  adjective  ya^dni,  orya-rdni,  here  used,  which  is  translated  "  beautiful,'' 
means  more  than  this  :  it  means  both  good  (or  useful)  and  beautiful.     It  contains 


or  THF 
UNIVERSITY 


248  Notes. 

elements  of  the  words  ya/f,  good,  and  of  IiLsrdni,  nfedni,  and  ^o-zdni,  which  signify 
beautiful. 

226.  According  to  the  Navaho  myths  and  songs,  the  corn  and  other  products 
in  the  gardens  of  the  ydi  or  divine  pnes  grow  and  mature  in  a  very  short  time. 
The  rapid  growth  of  the  crops  in  Na^fnesMani's  farm  is  supposed  to  result  from 
the  divine  origin  of  the  seed. 

227.  The  order  in  which  Na/i'nesMani  lays  down  the  ears  of  corn  is  the  order 
in  which  sacrificial  cigarettes,  kethawns,  and  other  sacred  objects,  when  colored, 
are  laid  down  in  a  straight  row.     The  white,  being  the  color  of  the  east,  has  pre- 
cedence of  all  and  is  laid  down  first.     The  blue,  the  color  of  the  south,  comes 
next,  for  when  we  move  sunwise  (the  sacred  ceremonial  circuit  of  the  Navahoes) 
south  follows  immediately  after  east.     Yellow,  the  color  of  the  west,  on  the  same 
principle,  comes  third ;  and  black  (in  this  case  mixed)  comes  fourth.     Mixed  is 
properly  the  coloring  of  the  upper  region,  and  usually  follows  after  black ;  but  it 
sometimes  takes  the  place  of  black.     These  apparently  superfluous  particulars  of 
laying  down  the  corn  have  a  ceremonial  or  religious  significance.     In  placing 
sacred  objects  ceremonially  in  a  straight  row,  the   operator  proceeds  southward 
from  his  starting-point,  for  this  approximates  the  sunwise  circuit,  and  he  makes 
the  tip  ends  point  east. 

228.  Pin-i-az  bf-tsd  (fawn-his-cheese),  or  fawn-cheese,  is  a  substance  found  in  the 
abdomen  of  the  fawn.     A  similar  substance  is  found  in  other  young  mammals. 
They  say  it  looks  like  curds,  or  cottage  cheese,  and  that  it  is  pleasant  to  the  taste. 
They  eat  it  raw.     The  author  has  not  determined  by  observation  what  this  sub- 
stance is.     Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam,  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  suggests  that 
it  is  the  partly  digested  milk  in  the  stomach  of  the  fawn,  and  this  is  probably  the 
case. 

229.  The  dish  offered  to  Na/fnesMani  is  called  by  the  Navahoes  atrd«,  which 
is  here  translated  upemmican."     It  consists  of  dried  vension  pounded  on  a  stone 
and  fried  in  grease. 

230.  To  make  dfl-tld-gi  kle-san,  cut  the  grain  off  the  ear,  grind  it  to  a  pulp  on 
a  metate,  spread  out  the  embers,  lay  a  number  of  green  corn  leaves  on  them, 
place  the  pulp  on  the  leaves,  put  other  leaves  on  top  of  the  pulp,  rake  hot  embers 
over  all,  and  leave  it  to  bake. 

231.  Z>I-tld-gm  M-dl-kd-i  is  made  of  a  pulp  of  green  corn  ground  on  a  metate, 
like  d\i\6g\  klesdri.     The  pulp  is  encased  in  husks,  which  are  folded  at  the  ends, 
and  is  then  placed  between  leaves  and  hot  coals  to  bake. 

232.  TM-bl-tra  (three-ears)  is  made  also  of  pulp  of  green  corn.     This  is  placed 
in  folded  cones  made  of  husks ;  three  cones  being  made  of  one  complete  husk, 
whose  leaves  are  not  removed  from  their  stem.     It  looks  like  three  ears  fastened 
together,  whence  the  name.     It  is  boiled  in  water. 

233.  The  story-teller  said :  "  about  as  far  as  from  here  to  Jake's  house,"  —  a 
distance  which  the  writer  estimated  at  300  yards. 

234.  Over  the  east  door,  one  cigarette,  that  for  the  male,  was  made  of  moun- 
tain mahogany  (tsd'es/agi,  Cercocarpns parvifolius],  perforated,  painted  blue,  and 
marked  with  four  symbols  of  deer-tracks  in  yellow  ;  the  other  cigarette,  that  for 
the  female,  was  made  of  cliff  rose  (aw^tsal,  Cowania  mexicana),  painted  yellow 
and  marked  with  four  symbols  of  deer-tracks  in  blue.     Over  the  south  door  the 
cigarette  for  the  male  was  made  of  sunflower  (m^igili),  painted  yellow  and  dotted 
with  four  symbols  of  antelope-tracks  in  blue  ;  the  cigarette  for  the  female  was 
made   of   "strong-smelling    sunflower"   (nWigili    nfltjdni,    Verbesina   enceloides), 
painted  white  and  dotted  with  four  symbols  of  antelope-tracks   in  black.     Over 
the  west  door,  the  cigarettes  were  of  the  same  material  as  those  in  the  east ;  but 
one  was  painted  black  with  symbols  of  deer-tracks  in  blue,  and  the  other  was 


Notes.  249 

painted  blue  with  symbols  of  deer-tracks  in  black.  At  the  bottom  of  the  steps, 
one  of  the  cigarettes  was  painted  black  and  dotted  with  four  symbols  of  fawn- 
tracks  in  yellow ;  the  other  was  painted  yellow  and  dotted  with  four  symbols  of 
fawn-tracks  in  black.  The  above  was  written  from  the  description  of  the  narra- 
tor. The  writer  has  never  seen  such  cigarettes  ;  but  they  are  said  to  be  employed 
in  some  Navaho  ceremonies  at  the  present  time.  In  this  series  of  cigarettes  the 
colors  are  not  in  the  usual  order,18  but  there  may  be  a  special  symbolism  for  these 
animals,  or  the  variation  may  arise  because  they  are  the  cigarettes  of  a  wizard  and 
therefore  unholy. 

235.  When  driving  game  to  a  party  in  ambush,  the  Navahoes  often  imitate  the 
cry  of  the  wolf.     In  this  myth  the  old  man  is  supposed  to  give  the  cry.  not  to 
drive  the  bears,  but  to  make  Na/fnesMani  believe  that  deer  are  being  driven. 

236.  The  name  Tj-a-na-naf  is  derived  from  tran,  which  means  dung.     Tj-e'-sko-^/i 
means  Spread-foot.     The  narrator  said  the  other  bears  had  names,  but  he  could 
not  remember  them. 

237.  "  He  did  not  even  thank  his  son-in-law  "  is  an  instance  of  sarcasm. 

238.  The  bear  is  a  sacred  animal  with  the  Navahoes ;  for  this  reason  the  hero 
did  not  skin  the  bears  or  eat  their  flesh.     The  old  man,  being  a  wizard,  might  do 
both. 

239.  //a-la-d-si-ni  ?  means  "  What  are  you  doing  ? "  but  it  is  a  jocose  expression, 
used  only  among  intimate  relations,  or  relations  by  marriage.     In  employing  this 
interrogatory  the  Navaho  gave  the  old  man  to  understand  that  he  was  recognized. 

240.  This  episode  of  the  twelve  bears  is  the  weakest  and   least  artistic  in  the 
tale.     Moreover,  it  details  a  fifth  device  on  the  part  of  Deer  Raiser  to  kill  his  son- 
in-law.     Under  ordinary  circumstances  we  should   expect  but  four   devices.     It 
seems  an  interpolation,  by  some  story-teller  less  ingenious  than  he  who  composed 
the  rest  of  the  tale,  introduced  to  get  the  men  out  together  once  more,  so  that,  on 
their  way  home,  the  incident  of  the  burnt  moccasins   might  occur.     The  latter 
incident  has*  been  previously  recorded  by  the  writer  in  another  connection.     (See 
note  242.) 

241.  Among  the  Navahoes,  when  a  person  dies,  the  suffix  ni,  or  ini,  is  added  to 
his  (or  her)  name,  and  thus  he  is  mentioned  ever  afterwards. 

242.  Before  the  story  of  Na/i'nesMani  was   obtained,  the  writer  had  already 
recorded  this  tale  of  the  burnt  moccasins  in  a  version  of  the  Origin  Legend.     In 
the  latter  connection  it  is  introduced  as  one  of  the  Coyote  tales.     The  mischiev- 
ous Coyote  is  made  to  try  this  trick  on  his  father-in-law ;  but  the  latter,  warned 
by  the  Wind,  foils  the  Coyote. 

243.  The  ridge  which  he  crosses  in  the  east  and  also  those  which  he  crosses 
later  in  the  south,  west,  and  north  are  colored  according  to  the  regular  order  of 
Navaho  symbolism. 

244.  The  narrator  described  the  bird   called   tsi-das-/6-i   thus  :  When   a  man 
passes  by  where  this  bird  is  sitting,  the  latter  does  not  fly  off,  but  sits  and  looks  at 
the  man,  moving  its  head  in  every  direction.     It  is  about  the  size  of  a  screech-owl. 

245.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  in  this  and  the  following  paragraph,  when 
pale-faced  people  are  mentioned,  any  allusion  is   made  to  Caucasians.     The  ref- 
erence is  merely  symbolic.     White  is  the  color  of  the  east  in  Navaho  symbol- 
ism :  hence  these  people  in  the  east  are  represented  as  having  pale  faces.     For 
similar  reasons  the  man  in  the  south  (par.  551)  is  said  to  have  a  blue  face,  the 
man  in  the  west  (par.  552)  a  yellow  face,  and  the  man  in  the  north  (par.  553)  a 
dark  face.    (See  note  18.) 

246.  Bl-s-a  (his  treasure),  something  he  specially  values ;  hence  his  charm,  his 
amulet,  his  personal  fetich,   his   magic  weapon,  something  that  one   carries   to 
mysteriously  protect  himself.     Even  the  divinities  are   thought  to  possess   such 


250  .  Notes. 

charms.  The  songs  often  mention  some  property  of  a  god  which  they  say  is 
"  Bi'^a-ye^igi'ngo  "  (The  treasure  which  makes  him  holy  or  sacred).  (See  par.  367 
and  note  280.) 

247.  These  medicines  are  still  in  use   among  the  .Navahoes.     The   medicine 
made  of  gall  consists  mostly  of  gall  of  eagles.     If  a  witch  has  scattered  evil  medi- 
cine on  you,  use  this.     If  there  are  certain  kinds  of  food  that  disagree  with  you, 
and  you  still  wish  to  eat  them,    use   the   vomit  medicine.     Hunters  obtain   the 
materials  when  they  go  out  hunting.     All  the  totemic  animals  named  (puma,  blue 
fox,  yellow  fox,  wolf,  and  lynx,  see  par.  548)  vomit  when  they  eat  too  much.     So 
said  the  narrator. 

248.  Buteo.  borealis.      The    tail  is  described   as  red   ("bright  chestnut  red," 
Coues)  by  our  ornithologists;  but  the  Navahoes  consider  it  yellow,  and  call  the 
bird  atseVftsoi,  or  yellow-tail. 

249.  A-ts6-si-d#e  ^a-^a7,  or  a-ts6-si  ^a-/a7,  means  feather  chant  or  feather  cere- 
mony.    The  following  particulars   concerning   the  ceremony  were  given  by  the 
narrator  of  the  story.     Dry-paintings  are  made  on  the  floor  of  the  medicine-lodge 
much  like  those  of  the  kldd^-i  7/a/a/,  and  others  are  made  representing  different 
animals.     It  is  still  occasionally  celebrated,  but  not  often,  and  there  are  only  four 
priests  of  the  rite  living.     It  lasts  nine  days,  and  it  has  more  stories,  songs,  and 
acts  than  any  other  Navaho  ceremony.     A  deer  dance  was  part  of  the  rite  in  the 
old  days,  but  it  is  not  practised  now.     The  rite  is  good  for  many  things,  but 
especially  for  deer  disease.     If  you  sleep  on  a  dry,  undressed  deer-skin  or  foul 
one,  or  if  a  deer  sneezes  at  you  or  makes  any  other  marked  demonstration  at  you, 
you  are  in  danger  of  getting  the  deer  disease. 

250.  Y6-i  ^a-/a7,  or  y6i-d^e  ^a-/a/  (bead  chant),  is  a  nine  days'  ceremony,  which 
is  becoming  obsolete.     The   author  has  been  informed  that  there  is  only  one 
priest  of  the  rite  remaining ;  that  he  learned  it  from  his  father,  but  that  he  does 
not  know  as  much  about  it  as  his  father  did. 

251.  The  device  of  setting  up  forked  sticks  to  assist  in  locating  fires  seen  by 
night  and  in  remembering  the  position  of  distant  objects  is  often  mentioned  in 
the  Navaho  tales.    (See  pars.  382  and  497.) 

252.  Equisettim  hiemale,  and  perhaps  other  species  of  Equisetum,  or  horse-tail. 

253.  ["  Klfr-ka',  the  arrow-snake,  is  a  long  slender  snake  that  moves  with  great 
velocity,  —  so  great  that,  coming  to  the  edge  of  a  cliff  when  racing,  he  flies  for  some 
distance  through  the  air  before  reaching  the  ground  again.     The  Navahoes  be- 
lieve he  could  soar  if  he  wanted  to.     He  is  red  and  blue  on  the  belly,  striped  on 
the  back,  six  feet  long  or  longer.     Sometimes  moves  like  a  measuring-worm."] 
From  the  above  description  Dr.  H.  C.  Yarrow,  formerly  curator  of  reptiles  in  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  arrow-snake   is  Bascanium 

flagelliforme. 

254.  Accipiter  cooperii,  called  gfni  by  the  Navahoes. 

/-  255.  Compare  with  description  of  Spider  Woman  and  her  home  in  paragraph 
306.  It  would  seem  that  the  Navahoes  believe  in  more  than  one  Spider  Woman. 
(May  be  they  believe  in  one  for  each  world.)  In  paragraph  581  we  have  an  in- 
stance of  black  being  assigned  to  the  east  and  white  to  the  north.  (See  note  18.) 

256.  There  are  several  plants   in   New   Mexico   and   Arizona  which   become 
tumble-weeds  in  the  autumn,  but  the  particular  weed  referred  to  here  is  the  Ama- 
rantus  albus.     It  is  called  tlo/dhi   nagY'si,  or  rolling  tlo/a"hi,  by  the  Navahoes. 
Tlo/alii  is  a  name  applied  in  common  to  several  species  of  the  Amarantacetz  and 
allied  Chenopodiacea.     (See  "  Navaho  Names  for  Plants."  312)     The  seeds  of  plants 
of  these  families  formerly  constituted  an  important  part  of  the  diet  of  the  Nava- 
hoes, and  they  still  eat  them  to  some  extent. 

257.  TjuW/il-gf-si  is  said  to  mean  frightened-weed,  scare-weed,  or  hiding-weed, 


Notes. 


251 


and  to  be  so  named  because  snakes,  lizards,  and  other  animals  hide  in  its  dense 
foliage  when  frightened.  It  is  a  yellow-flowered  composite,  Gutierrezia  euthamice 
(T.  and  G.),  which  grows  in  great  abundance  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico.  It  is 
used  extensively  in  the  Navaho  ceremonies  in  preparing  and  depositing  sacri- 
fices, etc. 

258.  Whirlwinds  of  no  great  violence  are  exceedingly  common  throughout  the 
arid  region.     One  seldom  looks  at  an  extensive  landscape  without  seeing  one  or 
more  columns  of  whirling  dust  arising. 

259.  In  the  full  myth  of  yoi  ^a/aV,  as  told  by  a  priest  of  the  rite,  a  complete 
account  of  the  ceremonies,  songs,  and  sacrifices  taught  to  the  Navaho  would  here 
be  given;  but  in  this  account,  told  by  an  outsider,  the  ritual  portion  is  omitted. 

260.  In  the  myth   of  the  "  Mountain  Chant,"  3H  p.  410,  it  is  stated,  as  in  this 
tale,  that  the  wanderer  returning  to  his  old  home  finds  the   odors  of  the  place 
intolerable  to  him.     Such  incidents  occur  in  other  Navaho  myths. 

261.  In  the  rite  of  the  kldd^i  y&a/aV,  or  the  night  chant,  the  first  four  masked 
characters,  who  come  out  to  dance  in  the  public  performance  of  the  last  night,  are 
called  atsa'/ei.     From  this  story  it  would  seem  that  a  similar  character  or  char- 
acters belong  to  the  yoi  ^a/aV. 

262.  These  great  shells  are  perhaps   not  altogether  mythical.     Similar  shells 
are  mentioned  in  the  Origin  Legend  (pars.  211,  213,  226),   in  connection  with  the 
same  pueblos.     Shells  of  such  size,  conveyed  from  the  coast  to  the  Chaco  Canyon, 
a  distance  of  300  miles  or  more,  before  the  introduction  of  the  horse,  would  have 
been  of  inestimable  value  among  the  Indians. 

263.  In  the  myth  recorded  in  "  The  Mountain  Chant :  a  Navaho  Ceremony,"  314 
p.   413,  there  is  an  account  of  a  journey  given  by  a  courier  who  went  to  sum- 
mon some  distant  bands  to  join  in  a  ceremony.     From  this  account  the  following 
passage  is   taken  :  ;'  I  .  .  .  went  to  the  north.     On  my  way  I   met  another  mes- 
senger, who  was  travelling  from  a  distant  camp  to  this  one  to  call  you  all  to  a 
dance  in  a  circle  of  branches  of  a  different  kind  from  ours.     When  he  learned  my 
errand  he  tried  to  prevail  on  me  to  return  hither,  and  put  off  our  dance  until  an- 
other day,  so  that  we  might  attend  their  ceremony,  and  that  they  might  in  turn 
attend  ours  ;  but  I  refused,  saying  our  people  were  in  haste  to  complete  their 
dance.     Then  we  exchanged  bows  and  quivers,  as  a  sign  to  our  people  that  we 
had  met,  and  that  what  we  would  tell  on  our  return  was  the  truth.     You  observe 
the  bow  and  quiver  I  have  now  are  not  those  with  which  I  left  this  morning.     We 
parted,  and  I  kept  on  my  way  toward   the  north."     In   par.    597  of   "  The  Great 
Shell  of  KTntyel "  reference  is  made  to  the  same  identical  meeting  of  couriers.     It 
is  interesting  to  observe  how  one  legend  is  made  to  corroborate  the  other,  —  each 
belonging  to  a  different  rite. 

264.  Pe'.rdblgas  is  here  translated  serrate  knife.     A  saw  is  called  benitnhi,  but 
in  describing  it  the  adjective  dblgas  is  used  for  serrate.     The  pe.$v/olgas  is  men- 
tioned often  in  song  and  story.     It  is  said  to  be  no  longer  in  use.     Descriptions 
indicate  that  it  was  somewhat  like  the  many-bladed  obsidian  weapon  of  the  an- 
cient Mexicans. 

265.  The  cliff-ruin  known  as  the  White  House,  in  the  Chelly  Canyon,  Arizona, 
has  been  often  pictured  and  described.     It  is  called  by  the  Navahoes  Kin-i-na-e'- 
kai,  which  signifies  Stone  House  of  the  White  Horizontal  Streak  (the  upper  story 
is  painted  white).     The  name  White  House  is  a  free  translation  of  this.     The 
Navaho  legends  abound  in  references  to  it,  and  represent  it  as  once  inhabited  by 
divinities.     (See  par.  78  and  fig.  22.) 

266.  H&t-d-zs-tsi-si  is  a  divinity  who  is  not  depicted  in  the  dry-paintings,  and 
whose  representative  the  author  has  not  seen.     He  appears  rarely  in  the  cere- 
monies and  is  thus  described :  The  actor  wears  an  ordinary  Navaho  costume,  and 


252 


Notes. 


an  ordinary  ydbaka  mask  adorned  with  owl-feathers,  but  not  with  eagle-plumes. 
He  carries  on  his  back  an  entire  yucca  plant  with  the  leaves  hanging  down,  and  a 
laro-e  ring,  two  spans  in  diameter,  made  of  yucca  leaves  (to  show  that  he  is  a  great 
gambler  at  nZnsoz).  He  carries  a  whip  of  yucca  leaves,  and  goes  around  among 
the  assembled  crowd  to  treat  the  ailing.  If  a  man  has  lumbago  he  bends  over 
before  the  actor  and  presents  his  back  to  be  flagellated  ;  if  he  has  headache  he 
presents  his  head.  When  the  actor  has  whipped  the  ailing  one,  he  turns  away 
from  him  and  utters  a  low  sound  (like  the  lowing  of  a  cow).  When  he  can  find 
no  more  people  to  whip,  he  returns  to  the  medicine-lodge  and  takes  off  his  mask. 
The  cigarette  (which  the  author  has  in  his  possession)  appropriate  to  this  god  is 
painted  black,  and  bears  rude  figures  of  the  yucca  ring  and  the  yucca  plant.  It  is 
buried  east  of  the  lodge  beside  a  growing  yucca.  Ten  songs  are  sung  when  the 
cigarette  is  being  made,  and  a  prayer  is  repeated  when  the  work  is  done.  The 
yucca  which  the  actor  carries  must  have  a  large  part  of  its  root-stock  over 
ground.  It  is  kicked  out  of  the  ground,  —  neither  pulled  nor  cut.  The  principal 
home  of  the  divinity  is  at  TsasitsozsakaW  (Yucca  Glauca,  Standing),  near  the 
Chelly  Canyon. 

267.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  twenty-one  divinities  represented  by  masks  in 
the  ceremony  of  the  kldd^i 


MALE. 

1.  ^astfdyal/i.  8. 

2.  Ga/zaskfrfi.  9.  //a/V/astmi.266 

3.  Ttf'nentti.  10.  //astreVtri.271 

4.  Naydnezgani.  11.  T^dhanoai. 

5.  Tb'bad-snfstnni.  12.  Kldhanoai,  or  Tldhanoai. 

6.  Dsaha^olds'd.  13.  //ast-ydbaka. 

7.  H*sts€zim. 

Each,  for  the  first  seven,  wears  a  different  mask.     The  last  six  wear  masks  of  one 
pattern,  that  of  ydbaka.     (See  plate  I.,  fig.  i.) 

FEMALE. 

14.  //astrdol/oi.  15  to  21.  ^astre'baad,  or  goddesses. 

All  the  female  characters  wear  masks  of  one  kind.     (See  fig.   28  and  plate  I., 
fig-  3-) 

268.  The  language  of  the  Eleventh  Census  is  quoted  here,  although  it  differs 
slightly  from  the  official  report  of  the  count  of  1869,  made  by  the  acting  agent, 
Capt.  Frank  T.  Bennett,  U.  S.  A.     Captain  Bennett  says  the  count  was  made  on 
two  separate  days,  October  2d  and  i8th,  and  gives  the  number  of  Indians  actu- 

ally counted  at   8,181.     (Report  of  Commission  of  Indian  Affairs  for    1860,  p. 
237.298) 

269.  Plate  IV.  represents  a  man  dressed  to  personate  Naye'nezgani,  or  Slayer  of 
the  Alien  Gods,  as  he  appears  in  an  act  of  succor  in  the  ceremony  of  the  night 
chant,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  ninth  day,  in  company  with  two  other  masquerad- 
ers  (TVbadsistnni  27°  and  ^fastre'oltoi  206).     The  personator  has  his  body  painted 
black  with  charcoal  of  four  sacred  plants,  and  his  hands  painted  white.     He  wears 
a  black  mask  which  has  a  fringe  of  yellow  or  reddish  hair  across  the  crown  and 
an  ornament  of  turkey's  and  eagle's  feathers  on  top.     Five  parallel  lines  with  five 
angles  in  each,  to  represent  lightning,  are  painted  on  one  cheek  of  the  mask 
(sometimes  the  right,  sometimes  the  left).     Small,  diamond-shaped  holes  are  cut 
in  the  mask  for  eyes  and  mouth,  and  to  the  edge  of  each  hole  a  small  white  shell 
is  attached.     On  his  body  there  are  drawn  in  white   clay  the  figures    of  eight 
bows  ;  six  are  drawn  as  shown  in  the  picture  and  two  more  are  drawn  over  the 


Notes. 


253 


shoulder-blades.  All  these  bows  are  shown  as  complete  (or  strung)  except  those 
on  the  left  leg  and  left  side  of  the  back,  which  are  represented  open  or  unstrung, 
as  shown  in  the  plate  and  fig.  41.  The  symbol  at  the  left  leg  is  made  first, 
that  on  the  left  shoulder  last  of  all.  All  the  component  lines  of  the  symbol  are 
drawn  from  above  downward  ;  fig.  41  shows  the  order  in  which  they  must  be 
drawn.  The  symbols  must  all  turn  in  one  direction.  The  personator  wears  a 
collar  of  fox-skin,  a  number  of  rich  necklaces  of  shell,  turquoise  and  coral,  a  fine 
skirt  or  sash  around  his  loins  (usually  scarlet  baize,  bayeta,  but  velvet  or  any 
rich  material  will  do),  a  belt  decorated  with  silver,  and  ordinary  moccasins.  He 
carries  in  his  right  hand  a  great  stone  knife,  with  which,  in  the  scene  of  succor,  he 
makes  motions  at  the  patient  and  at  the  medicine-lodge  to  draw  out  the  disease. 
The  patient  prays  to  him,  and  gives  him  a  cigarette  painted  black  and  decorated 
with  the  bow  -  symbols  in  white.  This  cigarette  is  preferably  deposited  under  a 


Fig.  41.  Diagram 
of  the  bow-symbol 
on  the  left  leg  of  the 
personator  of  Na- 
yenezgani. 


Fig.  42.  Diagram  of  queue-sym- 
bol on  the  left  leg  of  the  personator 
of  Tb'badsistrini. 


pinon-tree.     A  dry-painting  of  this  god  has  never  been  seen  by  the  author,  and 
he  has  been  told  that  none  is  ever  made. 

270.  Plate  VII.  represents  the  personator  of  the  War  God,  Tb'bads-Istrfni,  or 
Child  of  the  Water,  as  he  appears  in  the  act  of  succor  described  in  notes  206  and 
269.  His  body  and  limbs  are  painted  with  a  native  red  ochre ;  his  hands  are 
smeared  with  white  earth  ;  and  eight  symbols  are  drawn  in  his  body  in  white,  — 
two  on  the  chest,  two  on  the  arms,  two  on  the  legs,  and  two  on  the  back,  partly 
over  the  shoulder-blades.  As  with  the  bow-symbols  of  Naye'nezgani  (note  269), 
two  of  the  symbols  are  left  open  or  unfinished,  —  that  on  the  left  leg  (painted  first) 
and  that  over  the  left  shoulder-blade  (painted  last),  to  indicate  (some  say)  that  the 
labors  of  the  god  are  not  yet  done.  Fig.  42  shows  the  order  and  direction  in 
which  each  component  line  of  the  symbol  must  be  drawn.  The  symbols  repre- 


254 


Notes. 


sent  a  queue,  such  as  the  Navahoes  now  wear  (fig.  31).  Some  say  these  figures 
represent  the  queue  of  the  god's  mother,  others  say  they  represent  the  scalps  of 
conquered  enemies ;  the  latter  is  a  more  probable  explanation.  The  personator 
wears  a  mask  painted  also  with  red  ochre  (all  except  a  small  triangular  space  over 
the  face,  which  is  colored  black  and  bordered  with  white) ;  and  it  is  decorated  both 
in  front  and  behind  with  a  number  of  queue-symbols  (the  number  is  never  the 
same  in  two  masks,  but  is  always  a  multiple  of  four).  The  mask  has  a  fringe  of 
red  or  yellow  hair,  and  a  cockade  of  turkey-tail  and  a  downy  eagle-feather.  The 
holes  for  the  eyes  and  mouth  are  diamond-shaped,  and  have  white  shells  attached 
to  them.  The  actor  carries  in  his  left  hand  a  small  round  cylinder  of  cedar- 
wood  painted  red,  and  in  his  right  a  cylinder  of  pifion  painted  black.  With  these, 
in  the  scene  of  succor,  he  makes  motions  at  the  patient  and  at  the  lodge.  Like 
his  companion,  the  personator  of  Nayenezgani,  he  wears  a  collar  of  fox-skin 
( Vulpes  velox) ;  rich  necklaces  of  shell,  turquoise,  and  coral ;  a  skirt  or  "sash  of 
bay  eta,  or  some  other  rich  material ;  a  belt  adorned  with  plaques  of  silver ;  and 
ordinary  moccasins.  The  sacrificial  cigarette  which  he  receives  is  painted  red, 
marked  with  the  queue-symbols,  and  deposited  under  a  cedar-tree.  No  dry-paint- 
ing of  TVbad-snfstnni  has  been  seen  by  the  author,  and  he  has  been  assured  that 
none  is  made. 

271.  The  name  //as-treV-tri  (Red  God)  is  derived  from  /fastye'  (God,  see  par. 
78)  and  /itri  (red).     The  Red  God,  it  is  said,  is  never  depicted  in  dry-paintings. 
The  author  has  never  seen  the  character  in  masquerade ;  it  seldom  appears,  — 
only  on  the  rare  occasions  when  there  is  no  dance  of  the  naak^ai  on  the  last  night 
of  the  night  chant.     He  seems  to  be  a  god  of  racing.     The  following  account  of 
him  is  from  verbal  description :  Red  God  is  one  of  the  y£i,  and  dwells  wherever 
other  ydi  dwell  (hence   there  are   many).     His  representative   never  appears  in 
an  act  of  succor  and  never  helps  the  patient.     A  fast  runner  is  chosen  to  play 
the  part.     He  goes  round  among   the  assembled   Indians  and  challenges  men, 
by  signs   and   inarticulate   cries,  to   race  with  him.     If  he  wins,  he  whips  the 
loser  with  two  wands  of  yucca  leaves  (culled  with  special  observances)  which  he 
carries.     If  he  loses,  the  winner  must  not  whip  him.     If  the  loser  begs  him  to 
whip  softly  he  whips  hard,  and  vice  versa.     His  body  is  painted  red  and  has  queue- 
symbols  drawn  on  it,  like  those  of  Tb'bad-srfetnni  (plate  VII.).     His  mask,  which 
is  a  domino  and  not  a  cap,  is  painted  red  and  marked  with  circles  and  curves  in 
white.     His  cigarette  is  prepared  on  the  fourth  day,  but  it  is  not  given  to  him  to 
sacrifice;  it  is  placed  by  other  hands.     Song  and  prayer  accompany  the  prepara- 
tion and  sacrifice  of  the  cigarette.     The   latter  is  painted  red,  and  decorated  in 
white  with  queue-symbols,  either  two  or  four ;  if  four,  two  are  closed  or  complete, 
and  two  open  or  incomplete.    (Note  270.) 

NAVAHO   MUSIC. 

BY   PROF.   JOHN   COMFORT   FILLMORE. 

272.  The  twenty-eight  songs   which    I   have  transcribed  from   phonographic 
records  made  by  Dr.  Washington  Matthews  have  very  great  scientific  interest 
and  value,  inasmuch  as  they  throw  much  light  on  the  problem  of  the  form  spon- 
taneously assumed   by  natural  folk-songs.     Primitive  man,  expressing  his  emo- 
tions, especially  strongly  excited  feeling,  in  song,  without  any  rules  or  theories, 
must,  of  course,  move  spontaneously  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance.     This  is 
the  law  under  which  folk-melodies  must  necessarily  be  shaped.     The  farther  back 
we  can  get  toward  absolutely  primitive  expression  of  emotion  in  song,  the  more  valu- 
able is  our  material  for  scientific  purposes ;  because  we  can  be  certain  that  it  is 
both  spontaneous  and  original,  unaffected  by  contact  with  civilized  music  and  by 


Notes.  255 

any  and  all  theories.  In  such  music  we  may  study  the  operation  of  natural 
psychical  laws  correlated  with  physical  laws,  working  freely  and  coming  to  spon- 
taneous expression  through  the  vocal  apparatus. 

These  Navaho  songs  are  especially  valuable  because  they  carry  us  well  back 
toward  the  beginnings  of  music-making.  One  only  needs  to  hear  them  sung,  or 
listen  to  them  in  the  admirable  phonographic  records  of  Dr.  Matthews,  to  be  con- 
vinced of  this  from  the  very  quality  of  tone  in  which  they  are  sung.  In  all  of 
them  the  sounds  resemble  howling  more  than  singing,  yet  they  are  unmistakably 
musical  in  two  very  important  particulars:  (i)  In  their  strongly  marked  rhythm; 
(2)  In  the  unquestionably  harmonic  relations  of  the  successive  tones.  I  shall  deal 
with  them,  therefore,  under  the  two  heads  of  RHYTHM  and  HARMONIC  MELODY. 

i.  RHYTHM.  —  Mr.  Richard  Wallascheck,  the  distinguished  author  of  "  Primitive 
Music,"  has  lately  called  attention  to  the  importance  of  sonant  rhythm.  Not  only- 
does  the  rhythmic  impulse  precede  the  other  musical  elements,  but  the  superiority 
of  sonant  rhythm  is  such  as  to  serve  as  an  incitement  to  tone-production. 
Rhythm  tends  to  set  the  voice  going ;  and  of  course  vocal  sounds,  which  consti- 
tute the  first  music,  do  not  become  music  until  they  are  rhythmically  ordered. 
They  tend  to  become  so  ordered  by  a  natural  law  of  pulsation  which  need  not  be 
discussed  here.  The  regularly  recurring  pulsations,  which  specially  show  them- 
selves in  all  prolonged  emissions  of  vocal  sounds,  tend  also  to  form  themselves  in 
metrical  groups ;  speaking  broadly,  these  metrical  groups  are  usually  twos  or  threes, 
or  simple  multiples  of  twos  or  threes.  This  is  so,  for  the  most  part,  in  savage 
folk-music,  in  our  most  advanced  culture-music,  and  in  all  the  development  which 
comes  between.  The  metrical  grouping  into  fives  or  sevens  is  comparatively 
rare  ;  but  I  have  found  it  more  frequently  by  far  in  savage  folk-music  than  in 
our  music  of  civilization. 

The  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  metrical  grouping  of  tones  in  the 
Navaho  songs  here  given  is  the  freedom  with  which  the  singer  changes  from  one 
elementary  metre  to  the  other;  z.  <?.  from  twos  to  threes  and  vice  versa.  So  in 
the  compound  metres :  two  twos  and  three  twos,  or  two  threes  and  three  threes, 
are  intermingled  with  the  utmost  freedom,  so  that  few  of  them  can  be  marked  in 
the  notation  with  a  single-time  signature.  Or,  if  they  are,  there  is  almost  sure  to 
be  an  exceptional  measure  or  two  here  and  there  which  varies  from  the  funda- 
mental metrical  type.  Thus,  the  first  song  on  cylinder  No.  38  has  metrical  group- 
ings of  three  threes  and  of  two  threes ;  i.  e.  f  and  f  time.  The  two  songs  on 
cylinder  No.  41  have  three  twos  and  two  twos,  treating  the  eighth  note  as  a  unit; 
or,  better,  f  and  f  metre,  mingled  at  the  pleasure  of  the  singer.  Nearly  all  the 
songs  vary  the  metre  in  this  way.  The  one  on  cylinder  No.  62  has  an  exception- 
ally rich  variety  of  metrical  arrangement;  while  the  second  one,  on  cylinder  No. 
38,  is  exceptionally  simple  and  monotonous  in  metre  and  rhythm.  A  few  of  them, 
like  No.  25,  recorded  on  cylinder  No.  143,  are  singularly  irregular.  This  song 
would  seem  to  be  based  on  a  grouping  of  simple  twos  (|  time,  equal  to  -|)  as  its 
fundamental  metrical  conception ;  yet  a  great  many  measures  contain  only  three 
eighth  notes,  and  some  contain  five  or  even  six.  The  song  numbered  28,  on  cylinder 
No.  144,  has  a  |  metre  as  its  foundation,  but  varied  by  f,  equal  to  |.  In  respect 
of  metrical  grouping,  these  Navaho  songs  do  not  differ  in  any  essential  character- 
istic from  the  songs  of  the  Omahas,  the  Kwakiutls,  the  Pawnees,  the  Otoes,  the 
Sioux,  and  other  aboriginal  folk-music,  nor  from  that  of  other  nations  and  races, 
including  our  own.  The  complexity  of  metrical  arrangement  has  been  carried 
much  farther  by  some  other  tribes,  notably  the  Omahas  and  the  Kwakiutls,  than 
by  the  Navahoes,  so  far  as  appears  from  the  present  collection  of  songs.  There 
is  no  record  here  of  an  accompanying  drum-beat,  so  that,  if  the  combinations  of 
dissimilar  rhythms  which  are  so  common  in  the  two  above-named  tribes  exist 
among  the  Navahoes,  they  are  yet  to  be  recorded  and  transcribed. 


256  Notes. 

2.  HARMONIC  MELODY.  —  These  songs  seem  to  be  a  real  connecting  link  be- 
tween excited  shouting  and  excited  singing.     In  quality  of  tone  they  are  shouts 
or  howls.     In  pitch-relations  they  are  unmistakably  harmonic.     Some  of  them 
manifest  this  characteristic  most   strikingly.     For   example,    the   two   songs   on 
cylinder  No.  41  contain  all  the  tones  which  compose  the  chord  of  C  major,  and 
no  others.     The  second  one  on  cylinder  No.  38  has  the  tones  D  and  F  sharp  and 
no  others,  except  in  the  little  preliminary  flourish  at  the  beginning,  and  here  there 
is  only  a  passing  E,  which  fills  up  the  gap  between  the  two  chord-tones.     D  is 
evidently  the  key-note,  and  the  whole  melody  is  made  up  of  the  Tonic  chord  in- 
complete.   The  first  song  on  the  same  cylinder  is  similarly  made  up  of  the  incomplete 
Tonic  chord  in  C  minor ;  only  the  opening  phrase  has  the  incomplete  chord  of  E 
flat,  the  relative  major.     Cylinder  No.  49  has  nothing  but  the  Tonic  chord  in  C 
major,  and  the  chord  is  complete.     No.  61  has  the  complete  chord  of  B  flat  minor 
and  nothing  else.     No.  62  is  made  up  mainly  of  the  chord  of  F  major  complete. 
It  has  two  by-tones  occasionally  used,    G   and  D,  the  former  belonging  to  the 
Dominant  and  the  other  to  both  the  Sub-dominant  and  Relative  minor  chords. 
Song  No.  9  on  cylinder  No.  100  has  the  incomplete  chord  of  D  sharp  minor,  with 
G  sharp,  the  Sub-dominant  in  the  key,  as  an  occasional  by-tone.     The  last  tone 
of  each  period,  the  lowest  tone  of  the  song,  sounds  in  the  phonograph  as  if  the 
singer  could  not  reach  it  easily,  and  the  pitch  is  rather  uncertain.     It  was  prob- 
ably meant  for  G  sharp ;  but  a  personal  interview  with  the  singer  would  be  neces- 
sary to  settle  the  point  conclusively.     Song  No.  10,  on  the  same  cylinder,  has  the 
complete  Tonic  chord  in  D  sharp  minor  and  nothing  else  except  the  tone  C  sharp, 
which  is  here  not  a  melodic  by-tone,  but  a  harmonic  tone,  a  minor  seventh  added 
to  the  Tonic  chord.     This  is  curiously  analogous  to  some  of  the  melodies  I  heard 
in  the  Dahomey  village  at  the  World's  Fair,  and  also  to  some  of  the  melodies  of 
our  own  Southern  negroes.     Song  No.  11,  on  the  same  cylinder,  has  the  same 
characteristics  as  No.  9.     Nos.  12  and  13,  on  cylinder  No.  135,  contain  the  com- 
plete chord  of  D  flat  and  nothing  else.     The  two  songs  on  cylinder  No.  138  con- 
tain the  complete  chord  of  C  major  and  nothing  else,  except  at  the  beginning, 
where  A,  the  relative  minor  tone,  comes  in,  in  the  opening  phrase.     As  a  rule, 
whatever  by-tones  there  are  in  these  songs  are  used  in  the  preliminary  phrase  or 
flourish  of  the  song,  and  then  the  singer  settles  down  steadily  to  the  line  of  the 
Tonic  chord.     The  two  songs  recorded  on  No.   139  have  the  complete  major 
chord  of  B  flat,  with  G,  the  relative  minor,  as  a  by-tone.     The  two  songs  on  No. 
143  are  in  C  sharp  minor  and  embody  the  Tonic  chord,  with  F  sharp,  the  Sub- 
dominant,  as  a  by-tone.     Only  the  first  of  the  two  begins  with  the  tone  B,  which  does 
not  occur  again.     Song  No.  27,  on  cylinder  No.  144,  embodies  only  the  complete 
chord  of  C  sharp  minor.     No.  28  has  the  same  chord,  with  F  sharp  as  a  by-tone. 
The  two  songs  on  No.  145  are  in  D  minor  and  are  made  up  mainly  of  the  Tonic 
chord.     The  by-tones  used  are  G  and  B  flat,  which   make  up  two  thirds  of  the 
Sub-dominant  chord,  and  C,  which  belongs  to  the  relative  major.     No.  32,  on 
cylinder  No.  146,  has  more  of  diatonic  melody.     It  is  in  G  major,  and  embodies 
the  chord  of  the  Tonic  with  by-tones  belonging  to  both  the  Dominant  and  Sub- 
dominant  chords,  one  from  each  chord.     No.  33,  on  the  same  cylinder,  is  less 
melodious,  but  has  the  same  harmonic  elements.     Cylinder  147  has  two  songs  in 
D  major  which  embody  the  Tonic  chord  complete,  with  slight  use  of  a  single  by- 
tone,  B,  the  relative  minor.     The  same  is  true  of  song  No.  36,  on  cylinder  No. 
148.     Song  No.  37,  on  the  same  cylinder,  has  the  major  chord  of  C  and  nothing 
else. 

There  are  two  striking  facts  in  all  this :  (i)  When  these  Navahoes  make  music 
spontaneously,  —  make  melodies  by  singing  tones  in  rhythmically  ordered  succes- 
sion, —  there  is  always  a  tone  which  forces  itself  on  our  consciousness  as  a  key- 


Notes. 


257 


note,  or  Tonic,  and  this  tone,  together  with  the  tones  which  make  up  its  chord 
(whether  major  or  minor),  invariably  predominates  overwhelmingly;  (2)  When- 
ever by-tones  are  employed,  they  invariably  belong  to  the  chords  which  stand  in 
the  nearest  relation  to  the  Tonic. 

I  do  not  care  at  present  to  go  into  any  speculations  as  to  why  this  is  so.  No 
matter  now  what  may  be  the  influence  of  sonant  rhythm ;  what  may  be  the  rela- 
tions of  the  psychical,  physiological,  and  physical  elements ;  how  sound  is  related 
to  music  ;  how  men  come  to  the  conception  of  a  minor  Tonic  when  only  the  major 
chord  is  given  in  the  physical  constitution  of  tone.  All  these  questions  I  wish  to 
waive  at  this  time  and  only  to  insist  on  this  one  fact,  viz. :  That,  so  far  as  these 
Navaho  songs  are  concerned,  the  line  of  least  resistance  is  always  a  harmonic  line. 
If  we  find  the  same  true  of  all  other  folk-melodies,  I  can  see  no  possible  escape  from 
the  conclusion  that  harmonic  perception  is  the  formative  principle  in  folk-melody . 
This  perception  may  be  sub-conscious,  if  you  please ;  the  savage  never  heard  a 
chord  sung  or  played  as  a  simultaneous  combination  of  tones  in  his  life ;  he  has 
no  notion  whatever  of  the  harmonic  relations  of  tones.  But  it  is  not  an  accident 
that  he  sings,  or  shouts,  or  howls,  straight  along  the  line  of  a  chord,  and  never 
departs  from  it  except  now  and  then  to  touch  on  some  of  the  nearest  related 
chord-tones,  using  them  mainly  as  passing-tones  to  fill  up  the  gap  between  the 
tones  of  his  Tonic  chord.  Such  things  do  not  happen  by  accident,  but  by  law. 

That  these  Navahoes  do  precisely  this  thing,  no  listener  can  doubt  who  knows 
a  chord  when  he  hears  it.  But  the  same  thing  is  true  of  all  the  folk-music  I  have 
ever  studied.  Hundreds  of  Omaha,  Kwakiutl,  Otoe,  Pawnee,  Sioux,  Winnebago, 
Iroquois,  Mexican  Indian,  Zuni,  Australian,  African,  Malay,  Chinese,  Japanese, 
Hindoo,  Arab,  Turkish,  and  European  folk-songs  which  I  have  carefully  studied, 
taking  down  many  of  them  from  the  lips  of  the  native  singers,  all  tell  the  same 
story.  They  are  all  built  on  simple  harmonic  lines,  all  imply  harmony,  are  all 
equally  intelligible  to  peoples  the  most  diverse  in  race,  and  consequently  owe  their 
origin  and  shaping  to  the  same  underlying  formative  principles. 

Mr.  Wallascheck  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  rhythmic  impulse 
precedes  the  musical  tones,  and  also  to  the  part  played  by  sonant  rhythm  in  set- 
ting tone-production  going.  The  rhythmic  impulse  is  doubtless  the  fundamental 
one  in  the  origination  of  music.  But  when  the  tone-production  is  once  started  by 
the  rhythmic  impulse,  it  takes  a  direction  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  harmonic 
perception.  I  was  long  ago  forced  to  this  conclusion  in  my  study  of  the  Omaha 
music  ;  and  these  Navaho  songs  furnish  the  most  striking  corroboration  of  it. 
How  else  can  we  possibly  account  for  the  fact  that  so  many  of  these  songs  contain 
absolutely  nothing  but  chord  tones  ?  How  can  we  escape  the  conclusion  that  the 
line  of  least  resistance  is  a  harmonic  line  ?  Is  it  not  plain  that,  in  the  light  of  this 
principle,  every  phenomenon  of  folk-music  becomes  clear  and  intelligible  ?  Is 
there  any  other  hypothesis  which  will  account  for  the  most  striking  characteristics 
of  folk-music  ?  Every  student  must  answer  these  questions  for  himself.  But  I, 
for  my  part,  am  wholly  unable  to  resist  the  conviction  that  the  harmonic  sense  is 
the  shaping,  formative  principle  in  folk-melody. 

[In  the  numbers  of  The  Land  of  Sunshine  (Los  Angeles,  Cal.),  for  October  and 
November,  1896,  under  the  title  of  "  Songs  of  the  Navajos,"  the  poetry  and  music 
of  this  tribe  have  already  been  discussed  by  Professor  Fillmore  and  the  author. 
All  the  music  which  follows  (see  pp.  258,  279-290),  except  that  of  the  "Dove 
Song,"  was  written  by  Professor  Fillmore.] 


258 


Notes. 


273.     DOVE    SONG. 


(See  par. 

nSlOW. 

50.) 

^nn,, 

1 

Music  by 

i"^^ 

CHRIS 

TIAN 

BARTHEL 

=T-H  — 

MESS. 

-So 

It—. 

ss 

a 

-^  r~fi 

-""O      J 

j 

~  J    J 

EEE 

I— 

J 

"     A       * 

" 

J 

*   r*    1 

"            ^ 

Woj       woj       nai-^/i  -   la       a       a,      Woj     woj      nai  -</i    -    lo      o 


a,     Tsi  -  nol  -  ka  -  2!      nai  -</i  -    la 


a,      Woj      woj-      nai-^/i  -   lo 


Ke  -  /i  -   t^i  - 


TEXTS  AND   INTERLINEAR  TRANSLATIONS. 
274.      ASSEVERATION   OF   TORLINO  (IN   PART). 

Naestsan  baya"ntsln. 

Earth  (Woman  Horizontal),  for  it  I  am  ashamed. 

YaWyl/          bayantsln. 

Sky  (dark  above),  for  it  I  am  ashamed. 

//ayolkaV        baydntsin. 

Dawn,         for  it  I  am  ashamed. 

Na^otsdi  baydntsln. 

Evening  (Land  of  Horizontal     for  it  I  am  ashamed. 
Yellow), 

Na/jodb/ll'-si  baydntsln. 

Blue  sky  (Land  or  Place  of     for  it  I  am  ashamed. 
Horizontal  Blue), 


baydntstn. 

Darkness,    for  it  I  am  ashamed. 

Trohanoai         baya"ntsfti. 

Sun,  for  it  I  am  ashamed. 

Si  slzmi      beyaj/f'yi          baydntstn. 

In  me  it  stands,  with  me  it  talks,  for  it  I  am  ashamed. 


275.      BEGINNING    OF   ORIGIN   LEGEND. 

^add^e     /akaigo     /a'I'ndft//o ;        tsin      dzifinlz      tjfni. 

Water  with  Hill  Central  in      to  the  east         white  uprose;  day    they  thought  it   they  say. 

^a^add^e       dotll'zgv      t&Vnd'ilto ;        /a"bltri#  Ind^il/d        tj-fni.       In£dze 

To  the  south  blue  uprose;  still  their  day      they  went  around    they  say.     To  the  west 

/itsogo  /aTm/I//0;      i^i«a/a          d'le        tri'ni.     Akdgo     nd^okosd^e      ^/I/yi7go 

yellow  uprose;        evening  always    it  showed    they  say.       Then  to  the  north  dark 

ta'i'n^r//o;  akdgo     dazmtsZ     dAdzilkos    tri'ni. 

uprose;  then        they  lay  down      they  slept      they  say. 

TVbl/^asklWi          /o'altsahazlin ;      ^add^e     /a     ih'n,     ja^/aago     /a     ilin,      /a 

Water  with  Hill  Central    water  flowed  from  in      to  the  east    one  flowed,    at  the  south   one    flowed,     one 
ditterent  directions ; 


ilfn      tyi'ni. 


Notes. 

ilmigi 


ban 


to  the  west  flowed    they  say.      To  the  east  where  it  flowed  its  border    place  where 

they  dwelt ; 

ke/iodziti  tsi'ni. 


259 


e//d' ; 

to  the  south      also ; 


to  the  west      also  its  border  place  where    they  say. 
they  dwelt 

Haadze         Tan       hoig€ ;          sadaadze       Nahoafodla          hvige ;         inadze 

To  the  east  Corn      a  place  called ;        to  the  south  Naho^oola          a  place  called ;      to  the  west 

ZdkatsosakaV          ho\g€.       Haadze    Asa/ai       hoige ;      sadaadze.      T&hadzitil 

Reed  Great  Standing    a  place  called.  To  the  east     Pot  One   a  place  called ;  to  the  south   Water  They  Come 

for  Often 

^olge ;         inadze       DsiT/itsibe^q^an          ^olge.  Haadze        Leyahogan 

a  place  called  ;      to  the  west     Mountain  Red  Made  of      a  place  called.        To  the  east       Earth  under  House 
House 

hoige ;         sadaadze       Tsiltsi'nt/ia        h<Age  ;         inadze        Tse'/Ityibe^oga# 

a  place  called  ;     to  the  south        Aromatic  Sumac    a  place  called  ;     to  the  west       Rock  Red  Made  of  House 
among 


a  place  called. 

Hoiatsi  DilyVle     ke/zati     inte.     Hoiatsi    Litsi 

Ants            Dark           lived           there.           Ants  Red 

keVzati  inte.      Tjaltya      keVzati  Intd.      Wolntli'zi 

lived      there.  (Yellow  beetles)      lived  there.     Beetles  (?)  hard 

ketoi   inte.     Km/i'^m  ketiati  Inte.      Maityan     ke 

lived        there.       Bugs  black        lived  there.      Coyote-dung       lived 

(beetles)  (beetles) 

keVzati  Inte'.      Tbtsd'      kefrati  inte.     Womstsidi  ke^ati 

lived       there.    (White-faced        lived  there.             Locusts 
beetles) 

ke^ati  Inte'.  Nakida/ago  dme( 

lived       there.          Twelve  people 


ke'tai 

lived 

ke/zati 

lived 

iti  inte. 

d      there. 

;ati   Int^. 

ed      there. 

Inte.         ranllai 

there.          Dragon-flies 

inte.        Tse'yoaVi 

there.        Stone  carriers 
(beetles) 

Andi'ta  Tapani 

Besides           Bats 

Wonistsidi    Kai 
Locusts         White 

aisi     dezdei. 

these  started  (in  life). 

Haadze    hahd^e    /o'slgfn   t^fni  ;     sadaadze  /o'slgl'n  tsi'ni ; 

To  the  east     extended         ocean       they  say ;     to  the  south       ocean       they  say ; 

.  /o'slgl'n     tyi'ni.       Haadze      /o'slgl'n 

ocean          they  say.       To  the  east          ocean 

Inlmgo ;       ^anan/ai  tyi'ni. 

he  was  ;      Chief  of  the  people     they  say. 


trf'ni ; 

they  say ;        to  the  north 

si/f»   trfni.    Na/4ni 

lay      they  say.      Chief 


/o'slgl'n 

to  the  west       ocean 

bigi      Tidholtsodi 

within          Tieholtsodi 

to'slgl'n     bigi 

To  the  south          ocean        within 


T^altlahale   si/m     /si'ni.     Na/ani    mli/z'go  ;         ^anan/di         tjfni.  Inadze 

Blue  Heron  lay        they  say.        Chief  he  was  ;        chief  of  the  people    they  say.  To  the  west 


/o'sigfn       bi'gi       Tj-a/    si/in      tri'ni.       Na/ani     mlmgo  ;        ^anantai 

ocean  within        Frog          lay       they  say.          Chief  he  was  ;        chief  of  the  people 

Na^okosd^e  /o'sigfn    bi'gi       Idhi'dsT/kai     sitin  tj-fni;    /^anan/di   tfl'ni. 


isi'm. 

they  say. 


To  the  north        ocean 


lay 


they  say  ;    chief  of  the  they  say. 
people 

e'hyidelnago       ahadazf&ge 

with  one  another        they  committed 
adultery 

tyfni.        Yuwe 


tyl'ni. 

they  say. 

trl'ni. 

they  say. 


within    Thunder  Mountain 
White 

TTgi       itego      /zazago       keVa/zatsitigo ; 

In  this          way    they  quarrelled     around  where  they 

lived ; 

E'hyirtfelnago       estsani     altsan         /atylkid 

With  one  another         women         several    committed  crime   they  say.     To  banish  it     they  failed 

Tieholtsodi  ^aad^e  "  Hategola    db/e7a?    Hwehdya 

Tieholtsodi      to  the  east  "  In  what  way  shall  we  act  ?    Their  land     the  place  they  dislike."     To  the  south 

77zaltlahale       ^alni          tyi'ni.       I«ad.sre  "Ka/      si         dokone     kekadzitidolel," 

Blue  Heron      spoke  to  them     they  say.     To  the  west  "  Now        I  (say)      not  here          shall  they  dwell," 

Tsal      /zatsf.    Na/4ni    Inll'ni,     ^atsi      trf'ni.      Na/iokosdze  Idni'dsVkai 

Frog        he  said.        Chief          he  was,      he  said      they  say.        To  the  north         Thunder  Mountain  White 

"  Ta'-kada1     kadzeta    ^ahi^Inolidi "   t^I'ni. 

"  Quickly  elsewhere      they  must  depart "    they  say. 


260 


Notes. 


among  themselves 
again  fought 


Ha,a.dz£     Tieholtsodi     a.Mna.da.zdeya.go 

To  the  east          Tieholtsodi  when  again  they 

committed  adultery 

Sa.da,a.dze       TV^altlahale       /a/o^anantsiWa  tri'ni. 

To  the  south  Blue  Heron        again  said  nothing  to  them      they  say.     To  the  west 

mlme'ni       /a/o^anantsiVa      tri'ni.      Na/iokosdze.      I^/ni'dsi/kai 

he  formerly     again  said  nothing  to      they  say.         To  the  north      Thunder  Mountain 


tokatsi 

nothing  he  said 


trl'ni. 

they  say. 


tri'ni. 
they  say. 

Tin 
Four 

trl'ni ; 

they  say ; 


them 

7obi(//a/zo.3'on</a/a      tri'ni. 

Not  with  pleasant  ways,  one  they  say. 

naikalago     /akonahotsa      trf'ni. 

again  ends  of       again  the  same      they  say. 


White 


Tra/        na/ani 

Frog  chief 

/a/o^anantsiWa 

again  said  nothing 
to  them 


Sa.da.£dze 

To  the  south 


ke/iodzitini 

the  dwellers 


nights 

kina.tsidz6 

again  they  fought 


happened 

tsfni. 

they  say. 


/akonatsid-s-a 

did  the  same  again 


To  the  east    one 


there  ;      they  were  driven 


trl'ni. 

they  say. 


To  the  south 


Int£  ;  trena^o^ineltra  trf  ni. 

there  ;      again  they  were      they  say. 


mtd; 

there ; 


again  they  were 
driven  out 


trena/^o^ineltra 

again  they  were 
driven  out 


/a    estsanigo    /a  dinego      yahatraa.s' 

man       one        man       tried  to  enter  two 
together 

77/altlahale    si/med^e        yahanaUatas- 

Blue  Heron    to  where  he  lay  again  they  tried  to  enter 

two  together 

\na.dzQ  Tsa/  na/ani      mlfned^e          yahanatrata^ 

To  the  west  Frog       chief       to  where  he  was    again  they  tried  to  enter 

two  together 

trl'ni.      Na/zokosd.s'e      tsenatiodmeltsa,.  "Tola,       ni'yi/a. 

they  say.          To  the  north  again  they  were          "  Not        one  of  you. 


again  they  were 
driven  out. 


Mdseta,"       hotfonf         trl'ni.        AndI7a      aibftld 

elsewhere,"        thus  he  spoke        they  say.          Besides      the  same  night 

iska'          /a/'oas/etsa^a    tsTni.     NaW<£yayilkago 

they  discussed  it    the  end  of  the  night  they  did  not  decide  they  say. 


Dainoka' 

Keep  on  going 


hz.ya.lti       trl'ni. 

began  to  talk    they  say. 

ni'yila'       ^ad^e/a 

all  of  you        elsewhere 

hodoni       tst'm. 

thus  he  said     they  say. 

Estsdnigo         t\n 

Among  the  women   four 


"  Toda.dotsa.da. 

1  You  pay  no  attention 

/anelida ;       ko«d 

must  go ;  here 


trfnfyitri/ryajti 

all  I  said  to  you 

/6/a     ti'      ni 

not        this      earth 


After  dawn 

Mdis 

anywhere 

da.saka.dgi 

upon  stand  in 


Naho</oola 

Nahodo61a 

Tidholtsodi 

Tieholtsodi 

/a^/idotsf/; 

you  will  disobey ; 

ka/  /6/a ;  " 

now      not ;  " 


iskago       basa^atfilago 


nazaTitse 

as  they  were  rising 


Intd 

there 


to  the  south 

andi'/a 

besides 


also         it  appeared 


tri'ni.     Tin      iska.1       apfnigo 

they  say.      Four    ends  of     in  the  morning 
nights 

toisi     laka\go   /aiganil      trl'ni; 

to  the  east      something       white       it  appeared     they  say ; 

tri'ni;     naakowe'      in£dze     e/A5'      /aiganil 

they  say  ;      again  here     to  the  west        also         it  appeared 


ends  of  nights,   they  talked  about  it 
till 

trl'ni, 

they  say, 


nd/zokosd^e 

to  the  north 


e//6< 

also 


taigcinil 
it  appeared 


trl'ni. 

they  say. 


Dsi/ 

Mountains 


silin        tri'ni ;       /a/obl/a'hazani. 

it  stretched      they  say ;  without  opening. 

ta/ddizaatego     ahydTntrflin     trl'ni. 

not  to  be  climbed    flowed  all  around    they  say. 

Ahye'il/e'go         nihi.dnVe'      trl'ni ; 

They  went  around  in  thus  they  went  they  say ; 
circles 


andi'/a 

besides 

trl'ni ; 

they  say ; 

ahye'na'a'      ndhallni 

rising  up  around  like 


Tb'ahytfntril       trl'ni ;  -t 

Water  all  around         they  say ;     water  not  to  be  crossed, 

Taako    taha</i//e7    tri'ni. 

At  once      they  started      they  say. 

yabiflAS         trl'ni.        Z^ilkdgo.      Ta.a.do 

they  went  to  the  sky    they  say.       It  was  smooth.      Thence 


ta.n 

down 

Nitd 

There 
trl'ni ; 
they  say ; 


mda^ddti 

they  looked 

konde 

from  here 


tri'ni ;        to1 
they  say ;      water 

la,        /zasno/an 

one  stuck  out 


«  K6«ne," 
"Inhere," 


trlnd, 
he  said, 


;       to1 

where  it  had  risen ;          water 

trl'ni ;         tri       dotli'z 

they  say ;        head  blue 

"  ha,a.dzzgo        a/zdtsa/a 


to  the  eastward 


a  hole  " 


tri'ni. 

nothing  else  there     they  say. 

l€i ;  ^atsotsi 

it  had ;         he  called  to  them 

"      tri'ni.        Akd;me 

they  say.  In  here 


Notes. 


261 


ooil/d      tri'ni;     bftiakd'          il/e        tri'ni  ba^and^e  ^as/£          tri'ni. 

they  went    they  say;     through  it        they  went    they  say;     to  the  upper  surface    they  came  out        they  say. 
entering 

Dotll'zzm      //ajtrdjidflne'      a/i'#la         tri'ni.     //ajtrdjidflne'     ^dha/il         tri'ni. 

The  blue  one          Swallow  People        belonged  to      they  say.       Swallow  People        lived  there        they  say. 

//q^ranin       /ogdlgo       nazni'l,     tri'ni ;      Mho.fi'  yila'         tri'ni.      Bila^ad^re 

The  houses      rough  (lumpy)    scattered    they  say  ;   a  great  many    were  placed    they  say.  Toward  their  tops 
around, 

dahatsdzgo;          aafe          yahadahaztra'         tsr'ni.  Haho^i' 

they  tapered ;  from  that         gave  entrance  an  they  say.        A  great  many 

opening 

ko/gd     trfni.        //aa/ahazlfw          tri'ni. 

together  they  say.     They  crowded  together     they  say.  f 


people 


altrf 
collected 


276.      SONG  OF   ESTSANATLEHI. 

Aieneyd. 

(No  meaning.) 

E6  ed  aia  aheea  aia  eeeaia  aind. 

(A  meaningless  prelude  twice  repeated.) 


1.  Ydinaezgani   ja'  niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

Nayenezgani      for  me   he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

2.  Ka/  Bi/eelge/i     ja'   niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

Now        Teelge^        forme  he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

3.  TsiWa  /a  bid^di    ja'  niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

Truly      one  his  lung  for  me    he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

4.  Z>!ne'  nahostliWi.     6a'  niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

People    are  restored,       for  me  he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

Haia  aina  aiydya  ama. 

(Meaningless  refrain  after  each  stanza.) 
II. 

1.  Ka/  TVbad-s-istn'ni    ja'   niyi'nigi,  yeyey^na. 

Now        T^o'badzistjfni      for  me  he  brings,   (meaningless.) 

2.  Tseninaholi'ji     J-a'   niyfnigi,  yeyey^na. 

Tse'nahale         for  me    he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

3.  Ts!'^/a  /a     bi/di,      ja'    niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

Truly    one   his  wing,  for  me    he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

4.  Z>hie'  nahostlM.    ^a'  niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

People      are  restored.   For  me  he  brings,  (meaningless.) 
III. 

I.  Ka^  Zeyaneyani    sa'    niyf nigi,  yeyeyena. 

Now      Zeyaneyani     for  me     he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

jac   niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

for  me  he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

3.  Tsfda  bi/lapi'/e    ^a'    niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

Truly    his  side-lock    for  me   he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

4.  Z>me'   nahostllVi.    6"a'   niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

People     are  restored.     For  me  he  brings,  (meaningless.) 
IV. 

1.  Ka^  Tsdwenatlehi     ja'    niyfnigi,  yeyeyena. 

Now       Tsowenatlehi       for  me    he  brings,  (meaningless.) 

2.  Binaye  T^agdni      ja'   niyfnigi,  yeyeyena. 

BInaye  AMni        for  me    he  brings,  (meaningless.) 


262  Notes. 

3.  Tsi'da  /a    brndi    ja'    niyi'nigi,  yeyeydna. 

Truly     one  his  eye  for  me    he_brings,  (meaningless.) 

4.  ZJme'  nahostliWi.     Sa.'    niyi'nigi,  yeyeye'na. 

People      are  restored.    For  me     he  brings,  (meaningless. ) 

In  line  i,  stanza  I.,  Nayenezgani  is  changed  to  Yeinaezgani,  and  in  line  i,  stanza 
IV.,  Bmaye  AMni  is  changed  to  Bmaye  T^-agani.  NahostliWi  in  the  last  line  of 
each  stanza  is  rendered  here  "  restored,"  but  the  more  exact  meaning  is,  not  that 
the  original  people  are  called  back  to  life,  but  that  others  are  given  in  place  of 
them.  This  verb  is  used  if  a  man  steals  a  horse  and  gives  another  horse  as 
restitution  for  the  one  he  stole. 

277.   SONG  OF  NAYENEZGANI  (NAYENEZGANI  BIGl'N). 


Atsd  Estsa"n  Naydnezgani    yiL&aholnf*, 

Ats6       Estsan  Nayenezgani    began  to  tell  her  of, 

Btfe'elge/i      yiUaholnrX 

STeelget         began  to  tell  her  of, 

Nayd          holcWe  yil^aholnfs-. 

Anaye     from  where  they  are     began  to  tell  her  of. 
II. 

Estsdnatlehi  TVbadsfctrfni    yiUaholnIX 

Estsdnatlehi  ro'badzisUfni       began  to  tell  her  of, 

Tse'nahaldji    yiUaholnrX 

Ts^'nahale       began  to  tell  her  of, 

Nayd        hold./e  yiUaholnf^. 

Anaye  from  where  they  are    began  to  tell  her  of. 
III. 

Atsd  Estsdn  Zdyaneyani     yiUaholnfz, 

Atse"       Estsdn         Z-^yaneyani      began  to  tell  her  of, 


TseVaAotriltd'/i         began  to  tell  her  of, 

Naye*         hold^/e 

Anaye    from  where  they  are    began  to  tell  her  of. 
IV. 

Estsdnatlehi  Tsdwenatlehi    yiUaholnrX 

Estsdnatlehi  Ts6wenatlehi      began  to  tell  her  of, 

Bmaye  T.raga'ni    yiUaholni'^, 

Bmaye         AMni      began  to  tell  her  of, 

Nayd  holdafe  yiUaholnf^. 

Andye    from  where  they  are     began  to  tell  her  of. 

Prelude,  refrain,  and  meaningless  syllables  are  omitted  from  this  text. 

278.      SONG  OF   NAYENEZGANI. 
I. 

Ka/       Naydnezgani          koanigo     dffgmi, 

Now  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods   thus  he  says  a  holy  one, 

Ka/  T.r<5hanoai    koanigo, 

Now        The  Sun        thus  he  says, 

Z>Tgfn    yikd'    sizini     koanigo. 

Holy      thereon  he  stands  thus  he  says. 


Notes.  263 


ii. 

Ka/  Tb'badg-fetrfni    koanigo    <ftgfni, 

Now  Child  of  the  Water  thus  he  says  a  holy  one, 

Ka/  Klehanoai    koanigo, 

Now      The  Moon      thus  he  says, 

Digt'n  yika'        ^ole^i      koanigo. 

Holy      thereon  he  goes  forth  thus  he  says. 
III. 

Ka/         Zeyaneyani         koanigo     dftgmi, 

Now  Reared  under  the  Earth  thus  he  says   a  holy  one, 

Ka/   Tsdhanoai    koanigo, 

Now          The  Sun      thus  he  says, 

Ztfgfn    yika'     sizini     koanigo. 

Holy        thereon  he  stands  thus  he  says. 
IV. 

Ka/      Tsowenatlehi      koanigo    dflfgini, 

Now    Changing  Grandchild  thus  he  says  a  holy  one, 

Kat  Kldhanoai    koanigo, 

Now       The  Moon    thus  he  says, 

Z^gi'n    yika'      ho\&s\       koanigo. 

Holy      thereon   he  goes  forth  thus  he  says. 

Meaningless  parts  omitted.     Koanigo  is  from  kdnigo,  which  is  the  prose  form. 

279.      SONG  OF  NAYENJSZGANI. 
I. 

Ka/         Ydnaezgani          /a  ^isitsdya. 

Now  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods     one     I  hear  him. 
(Naye'ngzgani) 

Ya   benika\5Y/e     /a  ^isftsaya. 

Sky    through  from    one    I  hear  him. 

Bfniye    triye       /fsnisa^  l^e. 

His  voice  sounds  in  every  direction  (no  meaning). 

Biniye    trfye     digim          l^e. 

His  voice  sounds  holy,  divine  (no  meaning). 
II. 

Ka/  Tb'badsistrini    /a  ^/isitsdya. 

Now    Child  of  the  Water    one   I  hear  him. 

To'    benikaWe    /a  ^/isitsaya. 

Water  through  from    one     I  hear  him. 

Biniye   tsiye       /fsnisa^/  l^e. 

His  voice  sounds  in  every  direction  (no  meaning). 

Biniye  tn'ye  ^fgini       Ide. 

His  voice  sounds    divine    (no  meaning). 
III. 

Ka/          Zeyaneyani  /a  tf'isrtsa'ya. 

Now    Reared  under  the  Ground    one    I  hear  him. 

Ni'    benika\5Y/e    /a  ^isftsaya. 

Earth  through  from    one    I  hear  him. 


264  Notes. 

Bmiye    tn'ye       /fsmsa*/  lee. 

His  voice  sounds  in  every  direction  (no  meaning). 

Bmiye    triye   digim      lee. 

His  voice  sounds  divine    (no  meaning). 
IV. 

Ka/     Tsdwenatlehi     /a  </isftsaya. 

Now    Changing  Grandchild  one    I  hear  him. 

Kos    benika\$Y/e    /a  ^/isitsaya. 

Clouds  through  from    one    I  hear  him. 

Bmiye   tn'ye       ti'smsad  lee. 

His  voice  sounds  in  every  direction  (no  meaning). 

Bmiye  tnye  digim        le*e. 

His  voice  sounds  divine    (no  meaning). 

Naye'nezgani  changed  to  Yenaezgani ;  bine*  (his  voice)  changed  to  biniye ;  digl' n 
changed  to  dfigini,  for  poetic  reasons.     Preludes  and  refrains  omitted. 

280.      A   SONG   OF   NAYENEZGANI. 


Ka/       Naye'nezgani       na^aniya, 

Now  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods    he  arrives, 

Pes    dft/yf/i  be/&0£a"n/a     £sde  na/zam'ya, 

Knives      dark     a  house  made  of    from      he  arrives, 

Pes    dllyl'll  da'homhe  £sde  na/zam'ya. 

Knives      dark      dangle  high      from      he  arrives. 

W\z£zz          ^TnJgini,         jfka      /d/a. 

Your  treasures  you  holy  one,  for  my  sake     not. 
II. 

Ka/  TVbad.s'rstnni  na/fcanfya, 

Now  Child  of  the  Water     he  arrives, 

Pes      dblga'si     be^o^an/a     £sdt  na^aniva, 

Knives      serrate      a  house  made  of     from      he  arrives,' 

Pes    //olgasi  ^a'honihe  £sde  na/^aniya. 

Knives    serrate      dangle  high     from      he  arrives. 

Ni.s-a'.s'a  dinigmi,       j-fka       /d/a. 

Your  treasures     you  holy  one,    for  my  sake  not. 
III. 

Ka/        Z^yaneyani          na/^anfya, 

Now    Reared  under  the  Earth      he  arrives, 

Pes     al/^asai    be^q^an/a    £sde  na/^anfya, 

Knives  of  all  kinds  a  house  made  of    from      he  arrives, 

Pe-r     al//fosaf  ^a'honihe  £sde  na^anfya. 

Knives  of  all  kinds  dangle  high     from      he  arrives. 
Your  treasures  >ou  holy  one,  for  my  sake    not. 
IV. 

Ka/    Tsdwenatlehi     na/zam'ya, 

Now  Changing  Grandchild    he  arrives, 

Pes    /itsdi     be^o^n/a     asde  na/^anfya, 

Knives  yellow   a  house  made  of   from      he  arrives, 


Notes.  265 

Pej      /ftsdi  ^/a'honihe  £sde   na^aniya. 

Knives    yellow      dangle  high      from       he  arrives. 

NLs-aza  ^inlgmi,        jfka      A5te. 

Your  treasures  you  holy  one,   for  my  sake    not. 

In  endeavoring  to  explain  the  meaning  of  this  song,  the  singer  related  that 
Naydnezgani  said  to  his  mother,  "  You  are  the  divine  one,  not  I."  She  replied, 
"  No,  you  are  the  divine  one."  They  were  exchanging  compliments.  Then  he 
said,  "  Not  for  my  sake,  but  for  yours,  were  these  treasures  (weapons,  etc.)  given 
by  the  Sun.  They  are  yours."  For  the  meaning  of  \)\z£  (his  treasure),  see  note 
246.  NLza  or  ni'za.  means  your  treasure ;  the  last  syllable  is  here  repeated  per- 
haps as  a  poetic  plural.  The  houses  of  knives  are  said  to  be  the  different  cham- 
bers in  the  house  of  the  Sun.  Meaningless  syllables  are  omitted  in  this  text. 

28l.      SONG  OF    THE   SUN. 
I. 

Kay      Naye'nezgani  ,rideya"iye, 

Now  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods  I  come  (or  approach)  with, 

Pej    dilylTi    be^aWe       jWeya"iye, 

Knives      dark      from  house  made  of  I  come  with, 

Pes    dllyl'li  da'honu/e  jfafeyaiye, 

Knives      dark      from  where  they  dangle  high  I  come  with, 

*5a'          alili        .ridfeya"iye,    ani^oyele    anieydhi  aine*. 

For  me  an  implement  I  come  with,  to  you  dreadful      (no  meaning), 
of  the  rites 

II. 

Ka/  Tb'badsrlstrfni  jWeydiye, 

Now  Child  of  the  Water   I  come  with, 

Pes    dblgasi264    be^o^an/afe       .rideya'ie, 

Knives    serrate         from  house  made  of  I  come  with, 

Pes     afolgasi  ^/a'/zonide  Jideyd'iye, 

Knives     serrate    from  where  they  dangle  high  I  come  with, 

^Sa*          alili        .rirtfeycii'ye,  ani^iginle  aineydhi  aine*. 

For  me  an  implement  I  come  with,  to  you  sacred       (no  meaning), 
of  the  rites  (divine,  holy) 

III. 

Ka£          Zdyaneyani          .ndeydi'ye, 

Now  Reared  Beneath  the  Earth,    I  come  with, 

Pe-r       alMasai      be^o^-ande      j-i^ey^iye, 

Knives  of  all  kinds  from  house  made  of    I  come  with, 

Pes      alMasaf  ^a'^oniVe  jldfey%e, 

Knives  of  all  kinds  from  where  they  dangle  high  I  come  with, 

6a'  alfli        jWeya"iye,    anf^oy^le,     aineydhi  aind. 

For  me  an  implement  I  come  with,  to  you  dreadful,        (no  meaning) . 
of  the  rites 

IV. 

Kazf    Tsdwenatlehi     .ridfeya"iye, 

Now  Changing  Grandchild  I  come  with, 

Pes     /Itsdi      be^o^4n^e      .rfdeyd'iye, 

Knives  yellow  from  house  made  of  I  come  with, 

Pes     /rtsdi  ^a'/^oniVe  ji</eyaiye, 

Knives  yellow  from  where  they  dangle  high  I  come  with, 

.Sa'  alfli        jfo/eydTye,  ani^/ifginle    aineydhi  aind 

For  me  an  implement    I  come  with,    to  you  sacred         (no  meaning.) 
of  the  rites 


266  Notes. 

Alii  or  alili  means  a  show,  dance,  or  other  single  exhibition  of  the  rites  (see 
fig-  30).  It  also  means  a  wand  or  other  sacred  implement  used  in  the  rites.  It  is 
thought  that  the  colored  hoops  for  raising  a  storm,  described  in  par.  355,  are  the 
ali'li  referred  to  in  this  song. 


282.      SONG   OF   THE   SUN. 
I. 


ee    </eyd      ad,     rffeyd      ad, 

My  mind        approaches,          approaches, 

Tn'«hanoai  ed      deyd     aa, 

The  Sun  God  approaches, 

Ni'nme'la'  e^    ^/eyd      aa, 

Border  of  the  Earth        approaches, 

Estsdnatleri    big'dni        yunid^e          deya       aa, 

Estsanatlehi         her  house  toward  the  hearth  approaches, 

Sd«a       nagdi  ed      deyd      ad, 

In  old  age  walking          approaches, 

Bikd     hoz6m  ed      deyd      ad. 

His  trail  beautiful          approaches. 

Sim'      ed      deyd      ad,      deyd      ad. 

My  mind          approaches,          approaches. 
II. 

Slni1      ed      deyd      ad,      deyd      ad, 

My  mind          approaches,          approaches, 

Kldhanoai     ed      deyd      ad, 

The  Moon  God          approaches, 

Ni'nYne'la'  ed      «feyd      ad, 

Border  of  the  Earth          approaches, 

Yo/kai  Estsdn    bit^dni        yunids'e          ^/eyd      ad, 

Yo/ka{        Estsdn      her  house  toward  the  hearth  approaches, 

Sd«a       nagdi  ee*      rtfeyd      ad, 

In  old  age  walking          approaches, 

Elkd      >^o^6ni  ed      ^/eyd      ad. 

His  trail  beautiful          approaches. 

6Tni'      ed      deyd      ad      rtfeyd      ad. 

My  mind          approaches,         approaches. 

_Yuni,  here  translated  hearth,  is  a  certain  part  of  the  floor  of  the  Navaho  lodge. 
Yunids-e  means  in  the  direction  of  the  yuni. 

The  expressions  Sd«a  nagdi  and  Bilcd  /toz6m  appear  in  many  songs  and 
prayers,  and  are  always  thus  united.  Their  literal  translation  is  as  given  above  ; 
but  they  are  equivalent  to  saying,  "  Long  life  and  happiness  ;  "  as  part  of  a  prayer, 
they  are  a  supplication  for  a  long  and  happy  life.  Hoz6m  means,  primarily, 
terrestrially  beautiful  ;  but  it  means  also  happy,  happily,  or,  in  a  certain  sense, 
good. 

Estsdnatlehi  is  often  called,  in  song,  Estsdnatle^i,  and  T^ohanoai  is  often  called 
(apparently  with  greater  propriety)  T-rfrzhanoai.  •STfnfc.S'Pni. 

The  syllables  not  translated  are  meaningless. 

283.      SIGNIFICANT   WORDS    OF   SONGS    OF   THE   LOG,   FIRST   SET. 

First  Song  :  —  Tsin     niz6ni    ja'   nif  niMa. 

Tree        beautiful  for  me      they  fell. 
(log,  stick) 


Notes.  267 

Second  Song  :  —  Tsfri  nfeoni     ja'  hau/ile. 

Tree    beautiful  for  me    they  prepare  or  trim. 

Third  Song  :  —  Tsfri  ntedni     sa'        haiyMla'. 

Tree    beautiful  for  me  they  have  prepared. 

Fourth  Song  :  —  Tsui  nfedni    s\lfr    yidf/f'yi*. 

Tree    beautiful  with  me    they  carry. 

Fifth  Song  :  —  Tsin  nfcrdni     site'        /Miyiyitm. 

Tree    beautiful  with  me  they  put  in  the  water. 

The  word  for  beautiful  is  usually  pronounced  in^oni,  not  ntedni  as  above. 


284.      SIGNIFICANT   WORDS   OF   SONGS   OF   THE   LOG,   SECOND   SET. 

First  Song  :  —  Tsfn  m^oni    .rf/a'    neyllgd'. 

Tree    beautiful  with  me    they  push. 

Second  Song  :  —  Tsui  nfedni     j-i/a'   yidiseV. 

Tree    beautiful  with  me      floats. 

Third  Song :  —  Tsui  ni^oni     ji/a'        yiyi/d/. 

Tree    beautiful  with  me  moves  floating. 


285.   WORDS  OF  THE  EAGLE. 


A/blani    siazl     E'ydhe    s\&z  \       Nitsfli       /a     /oa^ainM'l^a,  Z>oniki. 

Greeting,    my  child  !      Thanks,  my  child  !    Your  younger  down    you  did  not  throw,      Z?onikf. 

brother 


286.   SONG  OF  THE  EAGLES.  —  A  SONG  OF  THE  BEAD  CHANT. 


Adooo  aici-hena  a«  a;z  a^aid  a/zaie*. 

(Meaningless  prelude.) 

Ki^nakiye  ydye  j-aaiyista    a«  a«, 

Ki«nakfye  there  he  sits, 

Haydaaa      ydye  jaaiyista    a«  a«, 

When  he  rises,  there  he  sits, 

Yiltsa        aa  ydye  jaaiyista    a«  an, 

We  shall  see,  there  he  sits, 

7a/pi7      aa  ydye    jaaiyista    a«  an. 

He  will  flap,  there  he  sits. 

Aiadore'ye  aia^/osdye  a«  an  an  o^aney^. 

(Meaningless  refrain.) 

Ki«nakiye=  Ki^niki.     The  vocables  not  translated  have  no  meaning  now. 


287.      SONG  OF   THE  ASCENSION. 
I. 

Aid  do  do  do  he,  do  do  do  do  he. 

(Meaningless  prelude.) 

1.  Tsi'natan   a/kai  ed  ed, 

Plant  of  corn    white, 

2.  Bidagi        tso    inyan  ed. 

Its  ear  sticks  great     to  eat. 
up  in 


268  Notes. 


3.  Nan/a"     a;za"72  to.re'  tos6. 

Stay  down. 

TOJC  eye  eye. 

ii. 
(Repeat  prelude  as  in  stanza  I.) 

1.  Xrfna/aw  dotli'z  e^  ee, 

Plant  of  corn      blue, 

2.  Bid£gi        tso  mya«  ee. 

Its  ear  sticks  great    to  eat. 
up  in 


3. 

Stay  down. 

(Repeat  refrain  as  in  stanza  i.) 


in. 
(Repeat  prelude.) 

1.  T$fna/a«  a/tsoi  ed 

Plant  of  corn  yellow, 

2.  Biddgi        tso  iwyaw 

Its  ear  sticks  great  to  eat. 
up  in 

3.  Nan/a"     a#a"#  to^d 

Stay  down. 

(Repeat  refrain.) 


IV. 

(Repeat  prelude.) 

1.  T$fna/aa  zl'm  ed  e^, 

Plant  of  corn   black, 

2.  Bida"gi        tso  myaw  ed. 

Its  ear  sticks  great  to  eat. 
up  in 

3.  Nan/a"     a«a"«  to^d  tojd. 

Stay  down. 

(Repeat  refrain.) 

v. 

(Repeat  prelude.) 

1.  Tji'na/      al/^asai  ed  ed, 

Plant  of  corn    all  kinds 
or  colors, 

2.  Bida"gi       tso  inyan  e^. 

Its  ear  sticks  great  to  eat. 
up  in 

3.  Nan/a     a#a";z  to^e  to.re'. 

Stay  down. 

(Repeat  refrain.) 

VI. 

(Repeat  prelude.) 
i.  Tji'na/a^  dlts6\  ed  e^, 

Plant  of  corn     round 
(nubbin), 


Notes.  269 

2.  Biddgi         tso  iny&n  ed. 

Its  ear  sticks    great  to  eat. 
up  in 

3.  Nan/'a     a«a#  to^e  to^d. 

Stay  down. 

(Repeat  refrain. 

Great  changes  are  made  in  some  of  the  words  in  this  song  for  prosodic  reasons. 
Tjfna/a«,  trf'nalaa,  and  tri'na/  (ist  lines)  are  all  from  tsi/ (plant)  and  na/a«  (corn), 
Bidagi  (2d  lines)  is  from  bidi  (its  ear),  id'  (it  sticks  up),  and  gi  (in).  A/kai  (line  i, 
stanza  I .)  =  /akai.  A/tsdi  (line  i ,  stanza  1 1 1 .)  =  /itsoi. 


288.   PRAYER   OF   FIRST   DANCERS  FROM  THE  CEREMONY  OF  THE   NIGHT   CHANT. 

1.  Tse'gihigi, 

Tse'gihi  in 

2.  //ayo/ka/     be/zo^lngi, 

Dawn  made  of  house  in, 

3.  Na/zotsdi          be/zo^angi, 

Evening  twilight    made  of  house  in, 

4.  Kdsdfi/yi/     be/zo^-angi, 

Cloud  dark       made  of  house  in, 

5.  Niltsabaka     be/zo^angi, 

Rain  male  made  of  house  in, 

Mist  dark      made  of  house  in, 

7.  Niltsabaad    be/zo^angi, 

Rain  female       made  of  house  in, 

8.  TJi2id  \t\n     be^o^angi, 

Pollen  made  of  house  in, 

9.  Anil/ani       be/zo^angi, 

Grasshoppers  made  of  house  in, 
Mist  dark     at  the  door, 

11.  NatsflW     bikedseVin, 

Rainbow      his  trail  the  road, 

12.  Atsinikli'ji     yfki  ^/asizini, 

Zigzag  lightning    on  it  high  stands, 

13.  Niltsabaka  yi'ki  ^/asizmi, 

Rain  male          on  it  high  stands, 
Deity  male, 

15.  Kds^i/yi/      nikego       na/zai'niya'. 

Cloud  dark      your  moccasins    come  to  us. 

1 6.  Kds^/i/yi/    nisklego    na/zamiya'. 

Cloud  dark      your  leggings     come  to  us. 

17.  Kds^/i/yi/    nidgo     na^ai'niya'. 

Cloud  dark      your  shirt     come  to  us. 

1 8.  Kds^/i/yi/     mtsago       na/zamiya'. 

Cloud  dark     your  headdress      come  to  us. 

19.  Kds^/i/yi/  binininlago  na^ainiya'. 

Cloud  dark      your  mind  en-      come  to  us. 
veloping 

20.  Niki'ds-e  \dofcd\ly\l  </ahi/ago  na^ainiya'. 

You  above    thunder  dark    high  flying     come  to  us. 


270 


Notes. 


21.  Kosistnn  bikdgo  ^/ahi/ago  na^amiya'. 

Cloud  having  a  shape     at  feet      high  flying      come  to  us. 

22.  IntsekaWo      kds<^i/yi/  beatra^asyelgo  dahi/ago  na^ainiya'. 

Your  head  over    cloud  dark    made  of  far  darkness   high  flying      come  to  us. 

23.  IntsekaWo     niltsabaka   beaUadasyelgo   </ahi/ago  na/zainiya'. 

Your  head  over      rain  male       made  of  far  darkness   high  flying     come  to  us. 

24.  IntsekaVo     frdilyil    beaUa<fasyelgo   ^/ahi/ago  na^ainiya'. 

Your  head  over  mist  dark    made  of  far  darkness    high  flying       come  to  us. 

25.  IntsekaWo     niltsabaad  beatyadasyelgo  ^/ahi/ago  nahamiya*. 

Your  head  over    rain  female    made  of  far  darkness    high  flying      come  to  us. 

26.  Intsekadb       atsinikli'ji  ^a^/a/zati'lgo  dahi/ago  na^amiya'. 

Your  head  over  zigzag  lightning    high  out  flung      high  flying     come  to  us. 

27.  IntsekdWo     natsili/  adahazlago  ^/ahi/ago  na/zamiya'. 

Your  head  over   rainbow     high  hanging     high  flying      come  to  us. 

28.  Nfra'laMa'db          kds^i/yi/  beaUadasyelgo     </ahi/ago  na/zamiya'. 

Your  wings  on  ends  of     cloud  dark    made  of  far  darkness      high  flying      come  to  us. 

29.  Ni/a'laMa'db         niltsabaka"    beatra^/asyelgo    ^/ahi/ago  na//amiya'. 

Your  wings  on  ends  of       rain  male       made  of  far  darkness    high  flying      come  to  us. 

30.  Nf/a'la/M'ofo          d^I/yl/    beaUadasydlgo   dahi/dgo  na/zamiya'. 

Your  wings  on  ends  of      mist  dark  made  of  far  darkness     high  flying       come  to  us. 

31.  NI/a'la//za'*/o         nlltsabad-d  beatja^/asydlgo  </ahi/ago  na/zamiya'. 

Your  wings  on  ends  of    rain  female    made  of  far  darkness    high  flying      come  to  us. 

32.  Nf/a'la/M'db  atsmikli'ji    ^adatofJgo  dahi/ago  na/^amiya'. 

Your  wings  on  ends  of  zigzag  lightning     high  out  flung     high  flying     come  to  us. 

33.  Nr/a'la/M'db         natsili/  a<tfahazla~go  //ahi/ago  na^ainiya'. 

Your  wings  on  ends  of  rainbow     high  hanging      high  flying       come  to  us. 

34.  K6s</i/y]f/,  nfltsabaka",  dWI/yf/,  niltsabaad    bi/    benatsi^asydlgo  na^ainiya*. 

Cloud  dark,         rain  male,      mist  dark,     rain  female    with  it  made  of  near  darkness   come  to  us. 

35.  Ni'gi^/asydl  na^amiya'. 

On  the  earth  darkness    come  to  us. 

36.  Ai'be  na/dtso    n5f/a</ed/    bidgi     taUawur       yi//o'lin        ejl'nosln. 

With  the  same  great  corn  floating  over  at  bottom        foam      with  water  flowing  that  I  wish. 

37.  Nigdl  i-rla"'. 

Your  sacrifice  I  have  made. 

38.  Na^e  hila'. 

For  you  smoke  I  have  prepared. 

39.  -STkd      jad^rtli/. 

My  feet  for  me  restore  (as  they  were). 

40.  SKsZt  ja^Itli/. 

My  legs  for  me  restore. 

41.  Sitsis    sa.&d\\\\l. 

My  body  for  me  restore. 

42.  Sl'ni       ja^itli/.. 

My  mind  for  me  restore. 

43.  Sln6       jaaWftli/. 

My  voice  for  me  restore. 

44.  Adistsin      nali'l          jad//i/e/. 

This  day          your  spell  for  me  take  out. 

45.  Kdlstsin      nalil  j-aanfnla'. 

This  day          your  spell  for  me  remove  (take  away). 

46.  ^Iftsdd^e        /ahiWrnla'. 

Away  from  me  you  have  taken  it. 

47:  Niza"go  sttsa'     ndnla'. 

Far  off      from  me  it  is  taken. 

48.  Nizago      nastlf*. 

Far  off       you  have  done  it. 


Notes.  271 


49.  Hoz6go 

Happily  (in  a        I  recover, 
way  of  beauty) 

50.  Hozogo      ji/aha^mokel. 

Happily       my  interior  becomes  cool. 

51.  Hozogo   .rind          nahoafotlel. 

Happily      my  eyes,  I  regain  (the  power  of). 

52.  Hoz6go   Jitse     ^Inokdl. 

Happily       my  head  becomes  cool. 

53.  Hozogo  s\tsa.t     nahodbtlel. 

Happily       my  limbs          I  regain. 

54.  Hozogo  na<2fe</estsil. 

Happily  again  I  hear. 

55.  Hozogo     saha^adolto*. 

Happily        for  me  it  is  taken  off. 

56.  Hozogo  najcu/o. 

Happily          I  walk. 

57.  Toyohodfodelm'go  na.raVo. 

Impervious  to  pain  I  walk. 

58.  ,S"i/ahago   solago  na^-aWo. 

My  interior        light          I  walk. 

59.  .Sand'       mslingo  na^ado. 

My  feelings      lively          I  walk. 

60.  Hozogo     kos^i/yil         jenahotlddb. 

Happily  (in      clouds  dark     I  desire  (in  abundance), 
terrestrial  beauty) 

61.  Hozogo  aV/I/yi/  .renahotledb. 

Happily       mists  dark        I  desire. 

62.  Hoz6go  je^/aahuiltyido  ^enahotl^^o. 

Happily          passing  showers  I  desire. 

63.  Hozogo       nanise         ^enahotle^/o. 

Happily       plants  of  all  kinds          I  desire. 

64.  Hozogo  th-3id\\.\n  j-enahotl^o. 

Happily  pollen  I  desire. 

65.  Hozogo  dzto1  ^enahotle^/o. 

Happily          dew  I  desire. 

66.  Hozogo  na/a/kai     yayoni          ni'</ahazldgo  ni'yilokai. 

Happily        corn  white  good  beautiful  to  the  end  of  the  earth  may  (it)  come  with  you. 

67.  Hozogo  na/a/tsoi      ya^dni          ni'</ahazldgo  ni'yilokai. 

Happily       corn  yellow  good  beautiful  to  the  end  of  the  earth  may  come  with  you. 

68.  Hozogo  nafadotli'zi       ya.«5ni          ni'^ahazlago          ni'yilokai. 

Happily  corn  blue         good  beautiful  to  the  end  of  the  earth  may  come  with  you. 

69.  Hozogo  na/aal//jasai      ya-rdni  niWahazldgo          ni'yilokai. 

Happily      corn   of  all  kinds  good  beautiful  to  the  end  of  the  earth  may  come  with  you. 

70.  Hozogo       nanisd  ya^dni          ni'</ahazldgo         ni'yilokai. 

Happily       plants  of  all  kinds  good  beautiful    to  the  end  of  the  earth  may  come  with  you. 

71.  Hozogo  yud\    al/^asai       ya^dni          niWahazlcigo  ni'yilokai. 

Happily        goods    of  all  kinds  good  beautiful  to  the  end  of  the  earth  may  come  with  you. 

72.  Hozogo  mklfz  alMasai       ya^dni          niWahazlago          ni'yilokai. 

Happily         jewels    of  all  kinds  good  beautiful  to  the  end  of  the  earth  may  come  with  you. 

73.  Tfbe       ni'yitsi'de  kozogo      ni'yilokai. 

With  these    before  you       happily    may  come  with  you. 

74.  TTbe       ni'yike^e  /teogo       ni'yilokai. 

With  these  behind  you     happily    may  come  with  you. 

75.  Jibe        ni'yiyagi  hoz6go      ni'yilokai. 

With  these   below  you      happily    may  come  with  you. 


272  Notes. 

76.  T^ibe       ni'yikigi  tiozogo      ni'yilokai. 

With  these  above  you     happily    may  come  with  you. 

77.  7"ibe       ni'yinagi</altso  hoz6go        ni'yilokai. 

With  these        all  around  you         happily    may  come  with  you. 

78.  jTibikego  hozogo         nahortfo/aY. 

In  this  way       happily    you  accomplish  your  tasks. 

79.  HozogQ  naj-/uwi#    /a'nuhyi/moli/. 

Happily  old  men      they  will  look  at  you. 

80.  ffozogo      sani      /a'nij-hyi/inoli/. 

Happily      old  women  they  will  look  at  you. 

81.  Hozogo     tsilke       /a'rmhyiV  Inoli/. 

Happily        young  men    they  will  look  at  you. 

82.  Hozogo      trfke       /a'nij-hyi/inoli/. 

Happily     young  women  they  will  look  at  you. 

83.  Hozogo  asik£  /a'nfohyi/moli/. 

Happily         boys     they  will  look  at  you. 

84.  Hoz6go  a/£/e  /a'nfrhyi/inoli/. 

Happily         girls    they  will  look  at  you. 

85.  Hoz6go  altrini   /a'nij-hyi?  inoli/. 

Happily        children   they  will  look  at  you. 

86.  Hoz6go  Jntani/ai'  /a'n^hyi/  Inoli/. 

Happily  chiefs        they  will  look  at  you. 

87.  Hoz6go        /ai^ol/a'  te'nfrhyi'/frioli/. 

Happily      scattering  in  different    they  will  look  at  you. 
directions 

88.  Hoz6go   ni/ail/d      /a'n^hyi/rnoli/. 

Happily     getting  home   they  will  look  at  you. 

89.  Hozogo  th^d\t  'f#ke  ztingo   ni/ail/drtfe. 

Happily          pollen  trail        on  road  they  get  home. 

90.  ffozogo   nind^/ahidoka. 

Happily      may  they  all  get  back. 

91.  Hozogo  naja^/o. 

Happily  (or  in  beauty)     I  walk. 

92.  ^itsfd^e  hoz6go  naj£</o. 

Me  before  toward    happily       I  walk. 

93.  S\k€dQ  hoz6go  naj-a^o. 

Me  behind  from    happily        I  walk. 

94.  itfyagi       hozogo  naja^o. 

Me  below  in    happily       I  walk. 

95.  ^iki'd^e          7ioz6go  nas£do. 

Me  above  toward    happily      I  walk. 

96.  6*  fad,       daltso  7ioz6go  na^^b. 

Me  around       all         happily      I  walk. 

97. 


In  happiness  (or      it  is  finished  (or  done), 
beauty)  again 

98.  //os-ona  7;astl£, 

In  beauty  again  it  is  finished, 

99.  Ifoz6n3.  /zastle, 

In  beauty  again  it  is  finished, 

ioo.  ^7o^6na  ^astM. 

In  beauty  again   it  is  finished. 


Notes.  273 


FREE  TRANSLATION  OF  PRAYER. 

I.  In  Tsegihi  (oh  you  who  dwell !) 
2. -In  the  house  made  of  the  dawn, 

3.  In  the  house  made  of  the  evening  twilight, 

4.  In  the  house  made  of  the  dark  cloud, 

5.  In  the  house  made  of  the  he-rain, 

6.  In  the  house  made  of  the  dark  mist, 

7.  In  the  house  made  of  the  she-rain, 

8.  In  the  house  made  of  pollen, 

9.  In  the  house  made  of  grasshoppers, 

10.  Where  the  dark  mist  curtains  the  doorway, 

1 1 .  The  path  to  which  is  on  the  rainbow, 

12.  Where  the  zigzag  lightning  stands  high  on  top, 

13.  Where  the  he-rain  stands  high  on  top, 

14.  Oh.  male  divinity  ! 

15.  With  your  moccasins  of  dark  cloud,  come  to  us. 

1 6.  With  your  leggings  of  dark  cloud,  come  to  us. 

17.  With  your  shirt  of  dark  cloud,  come  to  us. 

1 8.  With  your  headdress  of  dark  cloud,  come  to  us. 

19.  With  your  mind  enveloped  in  dark  cloud,  come  to  us. 

20.  With  the  dark  thunder  above  you,  come  to  us  soaring. 

21.  With  the  shapen  cloud  at  your  feet,  come  to  us  soaring. 

22.  With  the  far  darkness  made  of  the  dark  cloud  over  your  head,  come  to 

us  soaring. 

23.  With  the  far  darkness  made  of  the  he-rain  over  your  head,  come  to  us 

soaring. 

24.  With  the  far  darkness  made  of  the  dark  mist  over  your  head,  come  to  us 

soaring. 

25.  With  the  far  darkness  made  of  the  she-rain  over  your  head,  come  to  us 

soaring. 

26.  With  the  zigzag  lightning  flung  out  on  high  over  your  head,  come  to  us 

soaring. 

27.  With  the  rainbow  hanging  high  over  your  head,  come  to  us  soaring. 

28.  With  the  far  darkness  made  of  the  dark  cloud  on  the  ends  of  your  wings, 

come  to  us  soaring. 

29.  With  the  far  darkness  made  of  the  he-rain  on  the  ends  of  your  wings, 

come  to  us  soaring. 

30.  With  the  far  darkness  made  of  the  dark  mist  on  the  ends  of  your  wings, 

come  to  us  soaring. 

31.  With  the  far  darkness  made  of  the  she-rain  on  the  ends  of  your  wings, 

come  to  us  soaring. 

32.  With  the  zigzag  lightning  flung  out  on  high  on  the  ends  of  your  wings, 

come  to  us  soaring. 

33.  With  the  rainbow  hanging  high  on  the  ends  of  your  wings,  come  to  us 

soaring. 

34.  With  the  near  darkness  made  of  the  dark  cloud,  of  the  he-rain,  of  the 

dark  mist,  and  of  the  she-rain,  come  to  us. 

35.  With  the  darkness  on  the  earth,  come  to  us. 

36.  With  these  I  wish  the  foam  floating  on  the  flowing  water  over  the  roots 

of  the  great  corn. 

37.  I  have  made  your  sacrifice. 

38.  I  have  prepared  a  smoke  for  you. 


2  74  Notes. 

39.  My  feet  restore  for  me. 

40.  My  limbs  restore  for  me. 

41.  My  body  restore  for  me. 

42.  My  mind  restore  for  me. 

43.  My  voice  restore  for  me. 

44.  To-day,  take  out  your  spell  for  me. 

45.  To-day,  take  away  your  spell  for  me. 

46.  Away  from  me  you  have  taken  it. 

47.  Far  off  from  me  it  is  taken. 

48.  Far  off  you  have  done  it. 

49.  Happily  I  recover. 

50.  Happily  my  interior  becomes  cool. 

51.  Happily  my  eyes  regain  their  power. 

52.  Happily  my  head  becomes  cool. 

53.  Happily  my  limbs  regain  their  power. 

54.  Happily  I  hear  again. 

55.  Happily  for  me  (the  spell)  is  taken  off. 

56.  Happily  I  walk. 

57.  Impervious  to  pain,  I  walk. 

58.  Feeling  light  within,  I  walk. 

59.  With  lively  feelings,  I  walk. 

60.  Happily  (or  in  beauty)  abundant  dark  clouds  I  desire. 

61.  Happily  abundant  dark  mists  I  desire. 

62.  Happily  abundant  passing  showers  I  desire. 

63.  Happily  an  abundance  of  vegetation  I  desire. 

64.  Happily  an  abundance  of  pollen  I  desire. 

65.  Happily  abundant  dew  I  desire. 

66.  Happily  may  fair  white  corn,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  come  with  you. 

67.  Happily  may  fair  yellow  corn,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  come  with  you. 

68.  Happily  may  fair  blue  corn,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  come  with  you. 

69.  Happily  may  fair  corn  of  all  kinds,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  come  with 

you. 

70.  Happily  may  fair  plants  of  all  kinds,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  come  with 

you. 

71.  Happily  may  fair  goods  of  all  kinds,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  come  with 

you. 

72.  Happily  may  fair  jewels  of  all  kinds,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  come  with 

you. 

73.  With  these  before  you,  happily  may  they  come  with  you. 

74.  With  these  behind  you,  happily  may  they  come  with  you. 

75.  With  these  below  you,  happily  may  they  come  with  you. 

76.  With  these  above  you,  happily  may  they  come  with  you. 

77.  With  these  all  around  you,  happily  may  they  come  with  you. 

78.  Thus  happily  you  accomplish  your  tasks. 

79.  Happily  the  old  men  will  regard  you. 

80.  Happily  the  old  women  will  regard  you. 

81.  Happily  the  young  men  will  regard  you. 

82.  Happily  the  young  women  will  regard  you. 

83.  Happily  the  boys  will  regard  you. 

84.  Happily  the  girls  will  regard  you. 

85.  Happily  the  children  will  regard  you. 

86.  Happily  the  chiefs  will  regard  you. 

87.  Happily,  as  they  scatter  in  different  directions,  they  will  regard  you. 


Notes.  275 

88.  Happily,  as  they  approach  their  homes,  they  will  regard  you. 

89.  Happily  may  their  roads  home  be  on  the  trail  of  pollen  (peace). 

90.  Happily  may  they  all  get  back. 

91.  In  beauty  (happily)  I  walk. 

92.  With  beauty  before  me,  I  walk. 

93.  With  beauty  behind  me,  I  walk. 

94.  With  beauty  below  me,  I  walk. 

95.  With  beauty  above  me,  I  walk. 

96.  With  beauty  all  around  me,  I  walk. 

97.  It  is  finished  (again)  in  beauty, 

98.  It  is  finished  in  beauty, 

99.  It  is  finished  in  beauty, 
100.  It  is  finished  in  beauty. 

REMARKS    ON   THE   PRAYER. 

This  prayer  is  addressed  to  a  mythic  thunder-bird,  hence  the  reference  to 
wings  ;  but  the  bird  is  spoken  of  as  a  male  divinity,  and  is  supposed  to  dwell  with 
other  yei  at  Tse'gihi.  The  prayer  is  said  at  the  beginning  of  work,  on  the  last 
night  of  the  kldd^i  ^a/a/.  The  shaman  speaks  it,  verse  by  verse,  as  it  is  here 
recorded,  and  one  of  the  atsa'/ei  or  first  dancers,  repeats  it,  verse  by  verse,  after 
him. 

The  word  hozo  means,  primarily,  terrestrial  beauty.  Its  derivative  ftozogo 
means  in  a  beautiful  earthly  manner.  ffozoni  means  beautiful  on  the  earth, 
locally  beautiful  (inborn  refers  to  the  beauty  of  objects  and  persons) ;  //os-ona 
signifies  again  beautiful.  But  the  meanings  of  these  words,  and  others  of  similar 
derivation,  have  been  extended  to  mean  happy,  happiness,  in  a  happy  or  joyful 
manner,  etc.  In  a  free  translation  they  must  be  rendered  by  various  English 
words. 

The  four  final  verses  have  been  previously  recorded  by  the  author  as  hozom 
^asle"  (Qojoni  qasle),  but  he  now  regards  the  form  /zo-sdna  /zastle'  as  more  correct.289 
This  expression,  repeated  twice  or  four  times,  according  to  circumstances,  ends  all 
Navaho  prayers,  yet  recorded.  It  is  analogous  to  the  Christian  Amen. 

289.  In  a  few  instances,  in  this'  work,  a  Navaho  word  may  be  found  spelled  or 
accentuated  with  slight  differences  in  different  places.     It  must  not  be  inferred 
from  this  that  one  form  is  correct  and  the  other  not.     As  usage  varies  in  the 
languages  of  the  most  cultured  races,  so  does  it  vary  (only  in  greater  degree)  in 
the  languages  of  the  unlettered.     A  word  was  often  heard  differently  pronounced 
and  was  therefore  differently  recorded  by  the  author.     An  effort  has  been  made 
to  decide  on  a  single  standard  of  form  and  always  to  give  preference  to  this ;  but, 
in  a  few  cases,  variations  may  have  been  overlooked.     Words  sometimes  undergo 
great  changes  when  they  become  parts  of  compound  words.     Where  the  form  of 
a  word  in  this  work  varies  from  that  presented  in  previous  works  by  the  author 
the  variation  may  be  accounted  for,  in  some  cases  by  the  difference  in  the  alpha- 
bets used,  and  in  others  by  the  changes  of  opinion  which  have  come  to  him  in 
time,  as  the  result  of  a  more  extended  experience  or  a  more  advanced  study  of 
the  language. 

290.  Note  290  is  omitted. 


BIBLIOGRAPHIC   NOTES. 


BY  FREDERICK  WEBB  HODGE. 


For  the  convenience  of  the  reader,  a  list  of  the  principal  works  referred  to  in  this  book,  and  of  all  papers  on 
the  subject  of  the  Navahoes  written  by  the  author,  is  here  given. 


29I. 

BACKUS,  E.  An  account  of  the  Navajoes  of 
New  Mexico.  (In  Schoolcraft,  Informa- 
tion respecting  the  history,  condition  and 
prospects  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
United  States,  part  iv.  pp.  209-215, 
Philadelphia,  1854.) 

292. 

BANCROFT,  HUBERT  HOWE.  The  native 
races  of  the  Pacific  states  of  North 
America,  vol.  in.,  New  York,  1875. 

293- 

BICKFORD,  F.  T.  Prehistoric  cave-dwellings. 
(In  Century  Illustrated  Monthly  Maga- 
zine, New  York,  vol.  XL.  No.  6,  pp.  896- 
911,  October,  1890.) 

294. 

BOURKE,  JOHN  GREGORY*.  Snake  Dance 
of  the  Moquis  of  Arizona,  New  York, 
1884. 

295- 

The   Medicine-men  of    the  Apache. 

(In  ninth  annual  report  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ethnology,  pp.  443-595,  Washington, 
1892.) 

296. 

CATLIN,  GEORGE.  Letters  and  notes  on 
the  manners,  customs,  and  condition  of 
the  North  American  Indians,  etc.,  two 
vols.,  London,  1841. 

297. 

CENSUS.  Report  on  Indians  taxed  and 
Indians  not  taxed  in  the  United  States 
(except  Alaska)  at  the  eleventh  census: 
1890,  Washington,  1894. 

298. 

COMMISSIONER  OF  INDIAN  AFFAIRS.  Re- 
port of,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 


for  the  year  1867,  Washington,  1868.    The 
same  for  1870,  Washington,  1870. 

299. 

DUTTON,  CLARENCE  E.  Mount  Taylor 
and  the  Zuni  plateau.  (In  sixth  annual 
report  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  pp. 
105-198,  Washington,  1886.) 

300. 

EATON,  J.  H.  Description  of  the  true  state 
and  character  of  the  New  Mexican  tribes. 
(In  Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribes,  part  iv. 
pp.  216-221,  Philadelphia,  1854.) 

301. 

HODGE,  FREDERICK  WEBB.  The  early 
Navajo  and  Apache.  (In  American  An- 
thropologist, vol.  vni.  No.  3,  pp.  223-240, 
Washington,  July,  1895.) 

302. 

HOUGH,  WALTER.  Fire-making  apparatus 
in  the  United  States  National  Museum. 
(In  report  of  National  Museum  1887-88. 
pp.  531-587,  Washington,  1890.) 

3°3- 

LETHERMAN,  JONA.  Sketch  of  the  Navajo 
tribe  of  Indians,  territory  of  New  Mexico. 
(In  Smithsonian  report  for  1855,  pp.  283- 
297,  Washington,  1856.) 

3°4- 

MASON,  OTIS  TUFTON.  Cradles  of  the 
American  Aborigines.  ( In  report  of  Na- 
tional Museum  1886-87,  PP-  :6i-235, 
Washington,  1889.) 

305- 

MATTHEWS,  WASHINGTON.  Ethnography 
and  philology  of  the  Hidatsa  Indians. 
(Department  of  the  Interior,  United 


Bibliographic  Notes. 


277 


States  Geological  and  Geographical  Sur- 
vey, miscellaneous  publications  No.  7, 
Washington,  1877.) 

306. 

-  A  part  of  the  Navajo's  mythology. 
(In  American  Antiquarian,  vol.  V.  No.  3, 
pp.  207-224,  Chicago,  April,  1883.) 

307. 

-  Navajo     Silversmiths.     (In    second 
annual    report    of    the   Bureau  of    Eth- 
nology, pp.  169-178,  Washington,  1883.) 

308. 

-  A  night  with   the  Navajos.     By  Zay 
Elini.     (In  Forest  and  Stream,  vol.  xxiu. 
pp.  282-283,  New  York,  Nov.  6,  1884.) 

309- 

-  Navajo   weavers.      (In  third  annual 
report  of  the  Bureau  of   Ethnology,  pp. 
371-391,  Washington,  1884.): 

310. 

-  The  origin,  of  the  Utes.     A  Navajo 
myth.      (In   American   Antiquarian,   vol. 
vn.  No.  5,  pp.  271-274,  Chicago,  Septem- 
ber, 1885.) 

^^^  3"- 

-  Mythic  dry-paintings  of  the  Navajos. 
(In  American  Naturalist,  vol.  xix.  No.  10, 
pp.  931-939,  Philadelphia,  October,  1885.) 

312. 

-  -     Navajo       names     for     plants.      (In 

American  Naturalist,  vol.  xx.  pp.  767- 
777,  Philadelphia,  September,  1886.) 


-  Some   deities    and    demons    of    the 
Navajos.     (In   American  Naturalist,  vol. 
xx.  pp.  841-850,   Philadelphia,   October, 
1886.) 

3H- 

-  The  mountain  chant  :  a  Navajo  cere- 
mony.     (In   fifth   annual    report   of   the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  pp.  379-467,  Wash- 
ington, 1887.) 

3i5- 

-  The  prayer  of  a  Navajo  shaman. 
(In  American  Anthropologist,  vol.  I.  No. 
2,  pp.  149-170,  Washington,  April,  1888.) 

316. 

-  Navajo  gambling  songs.     (In  Ameri- 
can Anthropologist,    vol.   n.  No.   i,  pp. 
1-19,  Washington,  January,  1889.) 


3I7- 


-  Noqoilpi,    the    gambler  :    a   Navajo        ^ 
myth.      (In  Journal  of   American  Folk- 
Lore,  vol.  n.  No.  ii.  pp.  89-94,  Boston  and 
New  York,  April-June,  1889.) 

318. 

-  The   gentile   system  of  the  Navajo 
Indians.     (In  Journal  of  American  Folk-       v 
Lore,  vol.   ill.  No.  ix.  pp.  89-110,  Boston 
and  New  York,  April-June,  1890.) 

3*9- 

-  A  study  in  butts  and  tips.     (In  Ameri- 
can  Anthropologist,   vol.   v.  No.   4,  pp. 
345-350,  Washington,  October,  1892.) 

320. 

-  Some  illustrations  of  the  connection 
between   myth  and  ceremony.     (In  Me- 
moirs  of  the   International   Congress  of 
Anthropology,    pp.      246-251,     Chicago, 

1894-) 

321. 

-  The    basket    drum.     (In    American 
Anthropologist,  vol.   vn.  No.  2,  pp.  202- 
208,  Washington,  April,  1894.) 

322. 

-  Songs  of  sequence  of  the  Navajos.     r 
(In  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  vol. 
vn.  No.   xxvi.  pp.  185-194,  Boston  and 
New  York,  July-September,  1894.) 

323- 

-  A  vigil  of  the  gods  —  a  Navajo  cere- 
mony.     (In    American    Anthropologist, 
vol.   ix.  No.  2,  pp.   50-57,   Washington, 
February,  1896.) 


MINDELEFF,  VICTOR.  A  study  of  pueblo 
architecture  :  Tusayan  and  Cibola.  (In 
eighth  annual  report  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  pp.  3-228,  Washington,  1891.) 


MORGAN,  LEWIS  HENRY.  Ancient  Society 
or  researches  in  the  lines  of  human  pro- 
gress from  savagery,  through  barbarism 
to  civilization,  New  York,  1877. 


326. 

POWERS,  STEPHEN.  Tribes  of  California. 
(Contributions  to  North  American  Eth- 
nology, vol.  in.,  Washington,  1877.) 


278 


Bibliographic  Notes. 


327- 

SCHOOLCRAFT,  HENRY  ROWE.  Information 
respecting  the  history,  condition  and 
prospects  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
United  States,  part  iv.  Philadelphia,  1854. 

328. 

SIMPSON,  JAMES  H.  Report  of  an  expedi- 
tion into  the  Navajo  country  in  1849. 


(In   senate   ex.   doc.  64,   3ist  cong.,  ist 
sess..  Washington,  1850.) 


STEPHEN,  A.  M.  The  Navajo.  (In 
American  Anthropologist,  vol.  vi.  No. 
4,  pp.  345-362,  Washington,  October, 
1893-) 


MELODIES1 

Recorded  on  the  phonograph  by  WASHINGTON  MATTHEWS,  and  noted  from 
the  cylinders  by  JOHN  C.  FILLMORE. 


l  See  Note  272. 


Melodies. 


281 


No.  i. 
SONG   OF  THE   APPROACH    OF    THE    WAR   GODS. 


-^—  ^_pL_£_£_£_  ( 

r   p  nJLJ  i 


HI     PT 


j— i- 


No.  2. 
SONG    OF   THE   WAR   GODS. 


f^^g^E^^-j^E^JlE^ 


•I 1 


282  Melodies. 

No.  3. 
TWELFTH    YIKAIGIN    OR   DAYLIGHT    SONG. 


— l 


=&FS* 


Four  times. 


]=j^_Lzfv= 


Four  times. 


NF^ 

=i-rT^^ 

-j—  j    j    •  •=! 

^-^J 

-f- 

-3  —  j 

^ 

-i 

rU± 
-•-  -•- 

~i 

^ 

=^H 

Melodies.  283 

No.  4. 
A   SONG   OF   THE    NAAK/fAI, 

OR  DANCE   OF   THE   LAST   NIGHT   OF   THE   NIGHT   CHANT. 


.ft.  7rem. 


he      e  hock  !        he    e  hoch  /        he      e  hoch ! 

^E=: 


( Spoken^, 


— i-  i — r  zn 


t=j==£i=i=f*=£ 


he    e,   he 


284 


Melodies. 

No.  5. 
A  SONG  OF  THE  NAAKtfAI. 

Composed  by  THOMAS  TORLINO. 


Falsetto  and  Tremolo. 

/7s 


. a. —  —, .— e — f-9 — -= — n— —rS> —  p-f — 


i 


eh  fnimp!       eh  hump! 


\ 1 i 1- 


" —  £        ^^      _ •••  ^ — • 


= — - 


j         j 


ztttztz* 


e  -   e   -    e    eh,         eh, 


Melodies. 

No.  6. 
SEVENTH    SONG   IN   THE   FARM   OF 


285 


^33==3==$=*=£=£=3^ 


-•   -•-  -•-  -•-  -•-    :S-    -•-  -•-  -•-  -•-  -•-  -t 


I 


tT1  '     ^    _i_   ^.    _4 


Slide. 


286 


Melodies. 

No.  7. 
TENTH    AND    ELEVENTH    SONGS    IN   THE    FARM   OF 

I. 


f5 


Four  times. 


II. 


—  ^  

1  

1  — 

—  —3  —  1  —  E 

—  it-                   1  —  m 

-1 

-I|  , 
—  m  — 

—  1— 

-j  — 

-1  ^—^~\ 

Four  times. 


III.  ##*/  IV.  ^r^  exactly  the  same,  and  so  is  V.,  except  that  it  ends  thus  : 


pl 


-I \- p 3 1 

^ *-!  " ^ ^ *— 


Four  times. 


Five  verses  in  all. 


Final  ending  thus  : 


Melodies. 
No.  8. 


287 


FIFTEENTH    SONG    IN    THE   FARM    OF   &ASTSE&OGAN. 


--FV- 


~^^ N 

~) 1 1- 

:*-*-* 


ix  times. 


fesB^ifeSi 


-ftz 


•-    -•-     •- 

Six-  times. 


-3-        -+-          -+•    -•-    -4-  +-    -m-    -*- 


1 


-9-  -9- 


J^Ftt?-    LJ— L t»— i=^r-. 


Slide. 


E3EEEJEE4 


-•-  -•-  -•-  0        0        0        •       « 


i 


This  song  offers  some  very  curious  metrical  problems. 


288 


Melodies. 


No.  9. 

TWENTY-SECOND    SONG  IN  THE    FARM    OF 

Andante. 

=&= 


•*    j.j    j>* 


'•4  .  *   J— j^ 


-9-          -*-  * 


*•-* 


1 


" 


j ^    ^  *s-//dfe. 

^S211-^.  *-^^  ^-c*-^-»iJ  —  i^^ — ^    ^     -"-^ — * — *—  =I=S~ 


Melodies. 


289 


No.   10. 


TWENTY-THIRD  SONG   IN  THE    FARM    OF 


Alleretto. 


^ 

TP  *  N^  .^          ^        9 


-9 1— • 


— « 9 


1^ 


~      ir  i       N    i 

999 


Repeat  eight  times. 


\ 


Seven  times. 


^^ 


i  —  *  —  ^-^ 


This  Indian  howls  so  that  it  is  much  more  difficult  than  usual  to  be  sure  of  the  pitch-relations. 
Also  it  is  hard  to  tell,  in  many  places,  whether  he  means  a  double  or  a  triple  rhythm. 


290 


Melodies. 


No.  n. 
TWENTY-FIFTH  SONG  IN  THE  FARM  OF  HAST.51  EHOGAN. 


« * 


— *- 


— *- 


times. 


Eight  times. 


-=1 — I 


/TN 


9     »        P1          *  • 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


ABLUTIONS,  69,  73,  83,  212. 

Accouchement,  106,  231. 

Adultery,  64,  66,  67. 

Adultery,  punishment  for,  143,  144,  240. 

Aga/a  (district),  154,  157,  242. 

A/^o^/ise/i,  see  N«/fnes/7zani. 

Akanlnili,  messenger,  207. 

Aku/anas^ani     (sacred     mountain),     Hosta 

Butte,  N.  Mex.,  79,  222. 
Alphabet,  54. 
Alviso,  Jesus,  39. 
Amarantaceae,  250. 
Amulets,  or  talismans,  249,  250. 
Anaye,  alien  gods,  cannibals,  monsters,  37, 

81,  91,  123,  126,  212. 

Anaye,  blood  of,  produces  monsters,  81,  234. 
Anaye,  born  of  women,  218. 
Anaye,  changed  to  stone,  119. 
Anaye,  destroyed  by  storm,  129. 
Anaye,  outwitted,  92,  119. 
Ant  Peoples,  53. 
Antelope  farm,  185,  248. 
Antidotes,  192,  193. 
Apaches,  18,  32,  145,  146,  156,  157. 
Apaches,  Jicarilla,  154. 
Arabis  holbollii,  235. 
Archaisms,  25. 

Armor,  113,  116,  232,  233,  234. 
Arrow-case,  ancient,  140,  239. 
Arrows,  18,  142,  218. 
Arrow-snakes,  200,  250 
Ascension,  of  Na/ines^ani,  194. 
Atsa'lei,  first  dancers,  205,  251. 
A.rihi,  Salt  People  (gens),  30,  158. 
A.rihi  Estsan  (Salt  Woman),  236. 
A/ahyitsoi,  home  of  Leyaneyani,  103. 
Athapascan,  or  Dene,  9,  211. 
Atsa  (game),  219. 
Atse  Estsan  (goddess),  126. 
Atsosi  /$a/a/,  rite  of,  194. 
Atsosidze  7*a/a/,  feather  ceremony,  53,  194, 

250. 

Baby-case,  12,  231. 

Badger,  creation  of,  71,  76. 

Ball,  game  of,  86. 

Barthelmess,  Christian,  258. 

Baskets,  18,  19,  178,  210,  211. 

Bat,  84,  126. 

Bat  Woman,  120. 

Baths,  ceremonial,  184,  204,  211,  212,  226, 

227. 

Bead  chant,  see  yoidze  hzta.1. 
Bean,  183. 
Bear,  sacred  animal,  186,  249. 


Bear-maiden,  99,  100. 

Bear  that  Pursues  (anaye),  124. 

Bears,  pet  names  of,  187,  249. 

Beaver,  168. 

Beetle  Peoples,  63. 

Beggar,  196. 

Begging,  22. 

Bekot.riu/i,  moon-bearer,  god  of  Americans, 

86,  226. 

Bela/zatfni,  prophet,  53. 
Berdache,  see  Hermaphrodites. 
Bickford,  F.  T.,  195,  223. 
Big  Snake  (pueblo  chief),  200. 
Bike/$aM'n,  home  of  7eelget,  117. 
Binaye  Ahani   (anaye),   108,   113,   123,   124, 

236. 

Bird  monsters,  see  Tse'na'hale. 
Bi/a/£otn,  Sunset  Peak,  153,  242. 
Bi/ani,  Brow  of  Mountain  People  {gens),  30, 

242. 
Bi/a'ni,  Folded  Arms  People  (gens),  30, 148, 

150,  153,  159,  242. 

Bitsis  Doffi'z,  Blue  Body  (god),  68,  73,  78. 
Bitsis   Zakai,    White    Body   (god),   68,   73, 

104,  216. 

Bitsis  Zitsoi,  Yellow  Body  (god),  68. 
Bitsis  ZM'n,  Black  Body  (god),  68. 
Blackbird,  79. 

Black  Mountain,  Arizona,  see  Dsi//isfn. 
Black  Thunder  (sun-youth),  in,  232,  233. 
Black  under  the  Rock  (anaye),  126. 
Blankets,  21,  141. 
Blankets,  sacred,  136. 
Blue  Fox  (pueblo  chief),  200. 
Blue  Fox  People,  192. 
Blue  Heron  (chief  in  first  world),  63,  64. 
Blue  Sky  People,  104. 
Blue  Thunder,  in,  232,  233. 
Blue  under  the  Rock  (anaye),  126. 
Blue  Water  (lake  near  To'jato),  114. 
Bluebird,  28,  79. 
Blushing,  175. 
Borrowing  of  rites,  41. 
Bourke,  J.  G.,  32,  212,  294. 
Breath  of  gods,  magical,  129,  228. 
Breath  or  wind,  spirit  of  life,  69,  78. 
Bow  of  Darkness,  86. 
Bows,  18,  142. 
Bow-symbol,  253. 

Boy  Who  Produces  Goods,  79,  222. 
Brennan,  G.  A.,  238. 
Buckskin,  sacred,  46,  69,  214,  220,  etc. 
Bumblebees,  war  with  eagles,  201-204. 
Bundle,  magical,  97. 
Buteo  borealis,  250. 


294 

Butterfly  Goddess,  46. 
Buzzard,  spy  for  anaye,  107. 

Cabezon  Peak,  head  of  Yeitso,  234. 

Cactus,  102,  107,  1 10,  229. 

Cannel  coal,  237. 

Cannibal  wizard,  187. 

Captives,  ancestors  of  gentes,  146. 

Carnelian  Girl,  79. 

Carrizo  Mountains,  see  Dsi/naodsi/. 

Caterpillar,  112. 

Cedar-bark,  161,  175. 

Census,  Eleventh,  7,  252. 

Cercocarpus  parvifolius,  231. 

Ceremonies,  in  general,  40,  41,  241. 

Cereus,  231. 

Chaco  Canyon,  8 1,  140,  195. 

Chanter,  40. 

Charens  Station,  243. 

Charms,  109,  192,  249,  250. 

Chelly  Canyon,  36,  206,  257. 

Chenopodiaceae,  250. 

Chicken  hawks,  88. 

Chinlee  Valley,  238. 

Chronology  of  legend,  137,  239. 

Chusca  Knoll,  see  T.mskai. 

Cigarettes,  sacred,  42,  170, 185,  191,  193,  194, 

212,  248,  249,  254. 

Circle  of  branches,  ceremonial,  206,  241. 
Circuit,  ceremonial,  99,  181,  213,  216. 
Cliff-dwellers,  37,  40. 
Cliff-houses,  21,  142. 
Cliff  Swallow  People,  65,  99,  216. 
Clothing,  ancient,  141,  161,  175,  240. 
Clown,  in  rites,  167,  229,  230. 
Cobero  (town),  206. 
Colaptes  mexicanus,  245. 
Cold,  goddess  of,  130. 
Color,  symbolic  scheme  of,  65,  67,  215,  216, 

217,  218,  219,  221,  236,  243,  245. 
Colors,  sacred,  five,  189. 
Corn,  four  kinds  of,  181. 
Corn,  manner  of  cooking,  183,  248. 
Corn  meal,  ceremonial,  69. 
Corn,  planting  of,  173. 
Corn,  Pueblo,  superior,  why,  78. 
Corn,  sacred,  137,  140,  etc. 
Corpse-demon,  38. 
Cosmography,  65,  113,  114. 
Cowania  mexicana,  a  cliff -rose,  12,  248. 
Coyote,   71,  216,   218,   219,   222,    226,    249, 

etc. 

Coyote  and  Badger,  children  of  sky,  71. 
Coyote  and  Hawks  (tale),  88. 
Coyote  and  Otters  (tale),  98. 
Coyote  and  Spiders  (tale),  98. 
Coyote  and  Water  Monster  (tale),  74,  71;. 
Coyote  and  Wolf  (tale),  87. 
Coyote  and  Ye/apahi  (tale),  92,  93. 
Cranes,  or  swans,  218. 

Dances,  48,  50,  83,  144,  225,  227,  230. 

Darkness,  see  TVa/yeV. 

Dawn  Boy  and  Girl,  220. 

Daylight  People,  87,  104. 

Dead,  belonging  to  Sun  and  Moon,  223. 

Dead,  to  behold,  dangerous,  78. 

Death,  house  abandoned  after,  17,  102,  229. 

Decoration,  78,  79,  174,  177. 


Index. 


Deer  farm,  185,  186. 

Deer  masks,  70,  71,  154,  217. 

Deer  Raiser,  184-192. 

Deer  Spring  (place),  155,  242. 

Defiance,  Fort,  n,  212,  214. 

Deluges,  64,  74,  77,  217,  219. 

Demonolatry,  39,  40. 

Demons,  cannibal,  see  Anaye. 

Ztepe'ntsa,  San  Juan  Mountains,  78,81,  130, 

135,  219,  222. 
Z?estn'ni,  Red  Streak  People  (gens),  30,  146, 

1S7- 

Devil,  37,  97. 

Devils,  chief  of,  see  Estsan  Na/aw. 
Digging  animals,  217. 
DTgmi,  holy  ones,  37,  39,  164,  230. 
Z>ilko;2  (game),  219. 
Z?me'  i/igi'ni,   Holy  People,   140,    145,    230, 

239- 

/>ine*  Na/fcotloni  (far-off  kin),  154,  242. 
/)ine'  Naku/a/a,  Twelve  People,  149,  226. 
/fine',  Navahoes,  9,  210. 
Disease,  178,  205,  247. 
-ZPitsi'n,  Hunger  (anaye),  131. 
Dokoslid,  San  Francisco  Mountain,  3,  78, 

134,  153,  221,  238. 
Domestic  animals,  creation  of,  86. 
Ztoniki  (prophet),  198. 
Dove  Song,  27,  258. 
Dragon-fly  Peoples,  53. 
Drowning,  treatment  for,  170. 
Drumstick,  229. 

Dry-paintings,  39,  43,  45,  49,  245,  250. 
DsalWolclza,  Fringe  Mouths,  170,  245. 
DsfA/asdsi'ni  (place),  131. 
Dsi//m'n,  Black  Mountain,  Ariz.,  134,  238. 
Dsi/naodsi/,    Carrizo   Mountains,    159,   211, 

222. 
Dsi/nao/i/,  sacred  mountain,  108,  222,  230, 

etc. 

Dst/nao/iVni  (gens),  30,  140,  141. 
Dsi/tla',  Base  of  Mountain  (place),  142. 
Dsi//a'ni  (gens),  30,  142,  145,  157. 
Dsi/yfdze  /^a/a/,    mountain   chant,  27,  144, 

206,  207,  211,  226,  227,  241,  257. 
Dsi'/yi'  Neyani  (prophet),  46,  235. 

Eagle,  creation  of,  120. 

Eagle-robe,  199. 

Eagle  trapping,  232. 

Eagles,  1  20,  196,  203,  204,  205. 

Earth  from  sacred  mountains,  75. 

Earth-Mother,  see  Naestsan. 

Embroidery,  18. 

Emergence,  story  of  51,  63. 

Equisetum  hiemale,  250. 

Estsanatlehi,   the    Woman    Who    Changes 

(chief  goddess),  27,  34,  106,  134,  137,  148, 

230,  237,  etc. 

Estsanatlehi,  trail  of,  148. 
Estsan    Na^a«,    Woman    Chief,    chief    of 

witches,  40,  220. 
Ethics,  of  shamans,  58. 


Famine,  in  Zuni,  1  58. 

Farming,  ancient  Navaho,  172,  183. 

Fawn-cheese,  182. 

Feather  ceremony,  see  Atsosidze 

Feather-dress,  magical,  109,  199. 


Index. 


295 


Feathers,  ceremonial  use  of,  42. 

Fendleria  rupicola,  173. 

Fifth  World,  76. 

Figures  of  speech,  27. 

Fillmore,  J.  C.,  254,  257. 

Fire  arrows,  198. 

Fire-drill,  169,  202,  246. 

Fire  god,  see  //a.strezmi. 

Fires,  138,  141. 

First  Man  and  Woman,  38,  69,  70,  76,  77, 

78,  80,  216,  218,  230,  234. 
First  world,  63-65. 
Fish,  tabooed,  239. 
Flagstaff,  Ariz.,  221. 
Flocks,  and  herds,  5. 

Food,  ancient,  139,  153,  156,  162,  196,  239. 
Forestiera  neo-mexicana,  214. 
Fprt  Defiance,  228. 
Fort  Wingate,  227. 
Four  directions,  63,  etc. 
Four  rivers,  76. 
Fourth  world,  67. 
Fringe  Mouths,  see  Dsahaafoldsa. 
Frog,  64,  1 68,  170. 

Gambling,  82,  86. 

Games,  77,  90,  97,  219,  240. 

Ga;zasku/i,  Mountain  Sheep  People,  divini- 
ties, 37,  1 66,  170,  206,  244,  245,  246. 

Gardens,  of  divinities,  248. 

Garments,  ancient,  141. 

Gentes,  list  of,  29,  30. 

Giants,  see  Anaye. 

Giants,  powers  of  drinking,  115. 

Girl  Who  Produces  Goods,  79. 

Girl  Who  Produces  Jewels,  79. 

God,  no  supreme,  33. 

Gods,  calls  of,  47,'  68,  73,  82,  135,  136,  163, 
187,  217. 

Gods,  homes  of,  70,  164. 

Gods  of  mountains,  220. 

Gods  of  springs,  237. 

Gontso  or  Big  Knee  (chief),  143,  144,  146, 

147,  I55- 
Gopher,  83,  118. 
Grant's  (station),  233. 
Grasshopper  Girl,  79,  104,  137. 
Grasshoppers,  66,  67,  79. 
Grease-wood,  173. 
Great  Hawk,  75. 

Great  shell  of  KTWo/li0,  206,  207. 
Great  shell  of  Kintyel,  53,  195,  206,  207. 
Great  Snake,  83. 
Great  Wolf,  203. 
Grebes,  76. 

Ground-heat  Girl,  137. 
Ground  Squirrel,  118. 
Gutierrezia  euthamias,  244. 

Hair,  of  anaye,  1 22. 
Hair,  of  gods,  color,  228. 
Haliotis  shell,  79. 

ffaltso,  Yellow  Bodies  (gens),  30,  147,  241. 
Harmonic  melody,  2^6. 
Harvest  God,  see  Ga;/asku/i. 
//a.rkan/$atso,  Much  Yucca  People  (gens), 
30,  140,  239. 

i'zni,  Mud  People  (gens),  30,  148,  150, 
'55- 


(house  god),  36,  70,  83,  170, 


^ 

//ast-re/tri,  Red  God,  god  of  racing,  252,  254. 
./7ast.yeol/oi,  divine   huntress,  37,  244,   246, 
252. 

i,  talking    god,   36,  68,    82,   104, 


135,  163,  224,  etc. 
//astreyalri,  mask  of,  47. 
y/astsezini,  Black  God,  god  of  fire,  37,  68, 

169,  170,  219,  246. 
//a/a/,  chant,  214. 
Ha^a/i,  chanter,  priest,  40. 
Ha/a/i  Natloi,  Smiling  Chanter,  57,  215. 
v7a/a/i  Nez,  Tall  Chanter,  50,  51,  58,  215, 

223,  235. 
/fa^/a 


i  (god),  251. 
Headdress,  ancient,  184. 
Hermaphrodites,  70,  77,  217,  220. 
Hermaphrodites,  authors  of  inventions,  70. 
Hodge,  Frederick  Webb,  i,  239. 
Hogans,  huts,  115. 
Holy  ones,  see  Z?igfni. 
Holy  people,  see  Z>ine*  digim. 
//onaga'ni,  Place  of  Walking  People  (gens), 

30,  148,  154,  157,  242. 
Hoops,  magical,  108,  128,  201,  266. 
Horns,  demonic,  117,  235. 
Horse,  233. 

Hosta  Butte,  see  Aku/anas/ani. 
Hostodi  (bird),  124,  236. 
Hottentot  apron,  236. 
Houses,  summer,  15. 

ffozom  ha.ts.1  (rite),  58,  218,  220,  232,  235. 
Hummingbirds,  88. 
Hunger,  see  ZJitsi'n. 
Hunt,  methods  of,  89,  239. 
Hunting-masks,  191,  193,  217. 
Husband,  follows  wife,  150. 
HyieVyesi  (place),  143,  146.  - 

Idols  or  images,  104. 
Illegitimacy,  107. 
Incense,  177,  247. 
Incest,  187. 
Indigo,  44. 
Irrigation,  70. 
Island  Lake,  Colo.,  219. 

Jake  the  silversmith,  n,  19,  50. 
Jelly  of  yucca  fruit,  229. 
Jemez  (pueblo),  145,  158. 
Jewels,  inkli'z,  133,  147,  222. 

Kesitre  (game),  141,  240. 

Kethawns,  39,  42,  43,  117,  213. 

Ki/tsoi  (tribe),  150. 

Kiwaa'ni,     People    of    the    High    Standing 

House  (gens),  30,  150,  158,  242,  243. 
Ki'ndotliz  (town),  82,  167,  195,  196,  206,  207, 

237,  245. 

Kindred,  forbidden  degrees  of,  33. 
Kiwniki,  Chief  of  Eagles,  198. 
Kinship,  terms  of,  sign  of  amity,  65,  131, 

156,  198. 
Kintyel  (place),  81,  87,  140,  195,   196,  205, 

206,  207. 

Kintyel,  how  built,  82. 
Kisani,  Pueblos,  10,  68,  70,  77,  78,  195,  197, 

198,  226. 


296 


Index. 


Kit-fox,  226. 

Kledsi  AataJ,  or  night  chant,  35,  37,  53,  229, 

243,  251. 

Klehanoai  (moon-bearer)  80,  226. 
Klogi,  name  of  old  pueblo,  30. 
Knife  Boy,  101. 
Knitting,  21. 
Knives,  ancient,  233. 

Language,  mixed,  143. 

Lava,  blood  of  giants,  116,  234. 

Legends,  different  versions,  many,  50. 

Legends,  local,  abundant,  38. 

Legerdemain,  48,  241. 

Letherman,  Dr.  J.,  22,  23,  276. 

Leyaneyani,  Reared  Below  Ground  (hero), 

101,  103,  124,  126,  236,  237. 
Life-feather,    or    breath-feather,    of    eagle, 

magical,  109,  in,  231. 
Life  principle,  concealed,  91,  94,  102,  217. 
Life  token,  122. 
Lightning,  80,  115,  119,  165,  200,  245,  246, 

250,  252. 

Lightning  arrows,  101,  115-120,  125,  126. 
Lightning,  crooked,  165,  166. 
Lightning,  sheet,  80. 
Lightning,  straight,  165,  166. 
Lightnings,  sentinel,  in. 
Little  bird,  transformations  of  feathers  of 

Tse'na'hale,  121. 
Locust  People,  53,  74,  76,  218. 
Zokaadikm  (mythic  place),  no. 
Loom,  20,  23,  25. 

Magpie,  spy  of  anaye,  108. 

Maid  Who  Becomes  a  Bear,  see  Tjike  Szs 

Natlehi. 

Mai/6',  Coyote  Water  (spring),  152. 
Mai/oV/ine',  Coyote  People  (gens),  30,  152, 

242. 
Male  and  female  gender,  how  applied,  42, 

113   137,211,  235,  243. 
Maledictions,  144. 
Mammilaria,  round  cactus,  231. 
Mancos  Canyon,  238. 
Mandans,  16,  225. 
Manuelito,  3,  u. 
Mariano,  4,  n. 
Marsh  Pass,  Ariz.,  238. 
Masks,  46,  70,  191,  213,  252,  etc. 
McElmo  Canyon,  238. 
Medicine,  59,  100,  176,  195,  247,  250. 
Medicine-lodge,  15,  16,  205,  214,  241. 
Medicine-men,  see  Shamans. 
Melodies,  279. 
Melons,  150,  183. 
Mescal,  creation  of,  125. 
Mexicans,  creation  of,  87. 
Mine,  The  Lost  Adam  (legendary),  2. 
Minor  ceremonies,  41. 
Mirage  Boy,  137. 
Mirage  People,  69,  142,  238. 
Mirage  Stone,  79,  221. 
Mirage  Stone  People,  104. 
Moccasins,  190. 
Mohaves,  158. 
Mold,  41,  216. 
Moon,  creation  of,  80. 
Moon-bearer,  see  Bekotm/i. 


Morgan,  H.  L.,  Dr.,  31. 

Mountain  chant,  see  Dsi/yi'dse  7za/a/. 
Mountain  mahogany,  214,  231,  235,  248. 
Mountains,  sacred,  seven,  36,  71,  220,  22i0 

222. 

Mount  Taylor,  see  Tsotsi/. 
Music,  Navaho,  22,  29,  254,  258,  279. 

Nabiml/ahi  (chief),  141. 

Naestsan,  Woman  Horizontal,  Earth  Mo- 
ther, 230. 

Na/^opa,  Brown  Horizontal  Streak  (place), 
141. 

Na^opani  (gens),  30,  141,  157. 

Nahikai  (rite),  241. 

Nahoditahe  (hero),  196,  etc. 

NaiVikui,  name  of  Tb'badsistJini,  116. 

Nalkenaaz  (divine  couple),  136. 

Nanzos  (game),  84,  97,  141,  226. 

Nast-re  Estsan,  Spider  Woman,  109,  no, 
119,  201-203,  232,  250. 

Na/i'nesMani,  He  Who  Teaches  Himself 
(hero),  53,  58,  160-194,  243,  248,  etc. 

Na/i'nes^anini  (Na/i'nes///ani  dead),  187, 
249. 

Natsi'd,  ceremony,  146,  147,  241. 

Natsisaan,  Navaho  Mountain,  123,  154,  236. 

Navaho  country  and  people,  1-22. 

Navaho  Springs,  Ariz.,  224. 

Naye'nezgani,  Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods  (war 
god),  34,  106-134,  165,  231,  233,  236,  253. 

Nayenezgani,  wife  of,  244. 

Nicotiana,  various  species  of,  247. 

Night  chant,  see  Kledzi  7/a/a/. 

Niltri,  Wind  (god),  83,  101,  113,  127,  137, 
225,  etc. 

Ni'ltri  ZJilkohi,  Smooth  Wind,  76. 

Ninoka^/ine',  People  upon  the  Earth,  In- 
dians, 176,  247. 

Nfyol,  Whirlwind  (god),  101,  103. 

No/fcoilpi,  He  Who  Wins  Men  at  Play  (gam- 
bling god,  god  of  the  Mexicans),  82-87. 

Notes,  character  of,  56. 

Nubility,  ceremony  of,  238. 

Obstacles,  supernatural,  no,  113,  232. 

Oceans,  four,  63. 

Old  Age  Water,  see  Sa«bi/o<. 

Old  Age,  see  Saw. 

Opuntia  arborescens,  229. 

Oraibes,  154. 

Origin  Legend,  1-51,  68-159. 

Otter,  97-100,  1 68,  170. 

Otter,  cigarette  of,  yellow,  170. 

Owl,  creation  of,  120,  236. 

Pahutes,  creation  of,  123,  236. 

Palettes,  44. 

Paradise,  Navaho,  216. 

Pastora  Peak,  211. 

Pathology,  178,  247. 

Pelado  Peak,  N.  Mex.,  see  Tsisnadzi'ni. 

Pemmican,  184,  192,  248. 

Pes/ityi,  Red  Knife  (place),  134. 

Pet  animals,  149,  153,  164. 

Phragmites  communis,  42. 

Phratries,  32. 

Pictures,  ceremonial,  43,  49. 

Pigments,  five,  44. 


Index. 


297 


',  Deer   Spring   People   (gens), 

30,  155,  242. 

PmuVani,  Deer  Raiser  (god),  184,  191,  192. 
Pimkani-bitsi,  184. 
Pipes,  175,  176,  177,  246. 
Place  of  Emergence,  //ackinai,  76,  135,  147, 

214,  219. 

Planting  stick,  173,  246. 
Poetry,  22. 
Poison,  178-180. 

Pollen,  41,  45,  109,  183,  214,  232,  233. 
Pollen  Boy,  79,  104. 
Porcupine,  87,  149,  153. 
Portraits,  n. 
Potatoes,  wild,  2. 
Pottery,  18. 

Pottery,  invention  of,  70. 
Poverty,  see  Tieiw. 
Powers,  Stephen,  60. 
Prayer,  49,  109,  192,  269-275. 
Preludes,  of  songs,  25. 
Priest,  see  Shaman. 
Pronunciation,  55. 
Pueblo  Chet^ro  Kettle,  224. 
Pueblo  Grande,  224. 
Pueblos,  see  Kisani. 
Puma,  77,  149,  153,  200. 
Puma  People,  192. 
Pumpkin,  173,  etc. 

Queue,  symbolic,  254. 

Races,  ceremonial,  106,  134. 

Racing,  god  of,  see  /Tastre/tri. 

Rafts,  161. 

Rain  ceremonies,  41. 

Rain,  male  and  female,  78,  79,  106,  166. 

Rain,  form  of  Yo/kai  Estsan,  139. 

Rain  god,  see  Tonenili. 

Rainbows,  129,  168,  185,  231,  245. 

Rainbow  apotheosized,  244. 

Rainbow  arrows,  233. 

Rainbow  bridge,  96,  228. 

Rainbow  trail,  164,  230. 

Raven,  spy  of  anaye,  107. 

Reanimation,  91,  93,  95,  103. 

Reared  beneath  the  Earth,  see  Zeyaneyani. 

Red  God,  see  //astje/tri. 

Red  Lake,  39. 

Red  Wind,  67. 

Refrains  of  songs,  25. 

Religion,  23. 

Rhyme,  28,  29. 

Rhythm,  255. 

Rio   Grande,    Tb'baad,   Female   Water,  87, 

2IO,  235. 

Rio  San  Jose,    Tb'baka,  Male  Water,  210, 

235- 

Rite,  medicinal,  205. 
Rite-myths,  50. 
Rites,  antiquity  of,  45. 
Ritual  chants,  see 

Rock  Crystal  Boy  and  Girl,  79,  136. 
Rocks,  heads  of  giants,  116. 
Rock  People,  see  Tse'^ine'. 
Rocks  That  Crush  (anaye),  109. 
Rocky  Mountain  sheep,  96,  185,  244. 
Ropes,  of  rainbow,  etc.,  106,  165,  208. 
Ruins,  195. 


Sacred  articles,  eighteen,  163,  243. 

Sacrifices,  42,  223. 

•5aibe//o<£'an  (old  pueblo),  158. 

.Saitad,  land  of  rising  sand,  no. 

Salt,  used  to  blind  anaye,  123. 

Salt  Woman  (goddess),  229,  236. 

Saw,  Old  Age  (anaye),  130. 

Sawbi/o',  Old  Age  WTater,  San  Juan  River, 
36,  53.  J34,  I4i-i45»  'SS-'S?!  161,  211, 
235,  238,  241,  244. 

San  Juan  Mountains,  see  Ztepe'ntsa. 

San  Juan  River,  see  Sawb!/o'. 

San  Juan  Valley,  52,  238. 

San  Mateo  Mountains,  see  Tsotsi/. 

San  Miguel  Lake  and  River,  218. 

San  Rafael,  see  7b'sa/o. 

Sandals,  161. 

Sand-altars,  44. 

Sand-paintings,  see  Dry-paintings. 

Santa  Fe,  N.  Mex.,  87,  142. 

Sarcasm,  249. 

6aj-nalkahi,  Bear  that  Pursues  (god),  124, 
187,  189. 

Sciurus  aberti,  22,  34. 

Scourging,  106. 

Scrofula,  8. 

Seats,  refused  by  hero,  127. 

Seeds,  magical  growth  of,  74. 

Sentinels,  before  house  of  Sun,  in. 

Second  world,  blue  in  color,  65. 

Sexes,  quarrel  of,  72,  73. 

Shamans,  26,  49,  56-59,  205. 

Shells,  sacred,  83,  86,  226. 

Shells,  white  magical,  73,  152. 

She-rain,  166. 

Ship  Rock,  see  Tse'bi/aL 

Shooting  deity,  see  //astreol/oi. 

Silver  Lake,  Colo.,  219. 

Simpson,  J.  H.,  220,  223,  234. 

Sinew  (so  called),  240. 

Sky,  houses  in,  86. 

Sky,  of  four  colors,  92. 

Sky,  poles  or  supports  of,  113,  223. 

Sky  Father,  see  Yarfi/yi/. 

Sky-hole,  66,  113,  200,  204,  205,  233. 

Slavery,  86,  146,  241. 

Slaves,  descendants  from  gens,  146. 

Smell,  discovery  of  hero  by,  94. 

Snake-skin,  assumed,  188. 

Snow  buntings,  couriers,  130. 

Song  of  the  Approach,  35. 

Song  of  the  Eagles,  257. 

Song  of  the  Ascension,  257. 

Song  of  Estsanatlehi,  124,  261. 

Songs  of  the  Log,  266. 

Songs,  sacred,  24-28,  166,  167,  199. 

Spider  People,  98. 

i  Spider  Woman,  see  Nastre  Estsan.  --'' 
'  Spiders,  98-100,  228,  231. 

Sporobolus  cryptandrus,  162. 

Squash,  183,  etc. 

Squirrels,  74. 

Stars,  Creation  of,  80,  223,  224. 

Stephen,  A.  M.,  41,  212. 

Sticks,  sacrificial,  42. 

Store-houses,  142,  240. 

Storm-cloud,  in  decoration,  244. 

Storm-raising,  see  Hoops. 

Storms,  northern,  once  women,  144. 


298 


Index. 


Sudatory,  16,  1 1 2. 

Suds,  163,  204. 

Sun,  as  god,  86,  223. 

Sun,  creation  of,  80. 

Sun,  homes  of,  in,  127,  133,  232. 

Sunbeams,  117. 

Sunbeams  on  rain,  231. 

Sun-bearer,  see  Tj'ohanoai. 

Sun-children,  go  in  quest  of   their  father, 

110-113,  232. 
Sunflowers,  202,  235. 
Sun-god,  33. 
Sun-maidens,  in,  232. 
Sun-weapons,  113. 
Sunset  Peak,  Ariz.,  242. 
Swallow  People,  65,  216. 
Symbols,  in  body-painting,  253. 

Taboo,  142,  239. 

Talismans,  82,  128,  237. 

Tanapa,  6,  12.  " 

Tapeworm  (disease),  247. 

Tarantulas,  228,  231. 

TeelgeV  (anaye),  80,  107,  113,  116-124,  235. 

Texts,  how  obtained,  54. 

77;a'nezaS     Among     the     Scattered     Hills 

(place),  142. 

TYza'neza'ni  (gens),  30,  142,  143,  157. 
TM'paha  (gens),  30,  1 43-M7 '>  J57»  24O- 
7^a'paha-//alkai,  142,  145. 
T/$a'trini  (gens),  30,  145,  158. 
Thirteen  chips,  game  of,  83. 
Three  lights  (white,  morning,  blue,  day,  yel- 
low, evening),  63. 
Three-sticks,  game  of,  77. 
Throat  disease,  8. 
Tieholtsodi  (water  god),  63,  64,  73,  74,  77, 

126,  168-170,  212,  219,  220,  232. 
Tieholtsodi,  of  upper  world,  126. 
Tiefw  (Poverty),  131. 
Tieli'w,  sentinels  of  water  god,  168,  246. 
Tinneh,  12. 
Title  of  Book,  i. 
Tlastn'ni  (gens),  30,  146,  158. 
Tlo'ayum/ftigi,  great  fish,  168. 
Tobacco,  sacred,  42,  176-178,  214,  247. 
Tb'badzistnni,    Child   of    the    Water    (war 

god),  34-36,  116,  122,  124,  126-128,  134, 

165,  234,  246,  252-254. 
7b'bi//;ask!Vi  (Centre  of  First  World),  63. 
TWitnni  (gens),  30,  148,  150,  155.  157. 
To'dokonzi  (place),  139,  152. 
7b'</ok6;z0i  (gens),  30,  152,  239. 
T67;ani  (gens),  30,  145,  157. 
Tbhe  (magic  cry),  93,  226. 
7b'fn</otsos  (place),  87,  142. 
Tb'nenfli,  Water  Sprinkler,  rain-god,  37,  68, 

126,  166-170,  252. 
Tb'nihilw  (whirling  lake),  194. 
Torlino  (priest),  57,  58,  231. 
To'sa/o,  Warm  Spring,  San  Rafael,  N.  Mex., 

114,232,233. 
lotemism,  31,  239. 
To'tso,  Great  Water  (place),  159. 
To'tsoni  (gens),  30,  159. 
Tb'ye'tli,    Meeting  Waters,  home    of    war 

gods,  30,  146,  154,  165,  238. 
Trails,  or  paths,  holy,   104,   109,  134,   168, 

230. 


Transformation,  103,  112,  etc. 
Translation  of  legends,  53. 
Transportation,  miraculous,  165. 
Travelling  Stone,  anaye,  125. 
Trials,  of  hero,  in,  113,  179. 
Tribal  organization,  29. 
Trophies,  116,  118,  123,  126,  132. 
Trout  Lake,  218. 
Tja/ye/,  Darkness,  83,  101. 
T-s-a'olga^asze  (place),  139,  140. 
Tsasitsozsaka^  (place),  home 

Tse'a/;aM'ni,  Rock  with  Black  Hole  (home 

of  Bin  aye  A^ani),  81,  123,  124. 
Tse'bahastsit,  Rock  that  Frightens,  124. 
Tse'bi/ai,  Winged  Rock,  home  of  Tse'na'- 

hale,  119,  120,  235. 

T-re'dani,  expression  of  contempt,  236. 
Tse'deza',  Standing  Rock  (place),  195-197. 
Tse'dine',  Rock  People,  156. 
Tse'dzinki'ni  (gens),  29,  138,  158,  239. 
Tse'espai  (place),  125. 
Tse'gihi  (home  of  yei),  87,  136,   166,   238, 

246. 

Tse'inli;/  Valley,  240. 
Tse'/akaiia  (place),  81,  104,  137,  138. 
Tse'nagahi,  Travelling  Stone  (anaye),  125. 
Tse'na'hale    (winged  monsters,  anaye),  80, 

107,  113,  119-124,  126,  235,  236. 
Tse'nahapf/ni  (gens),  30,  156,  157. 
TseVar/i  (home  of  </igmi),  164,  166. 
Tse'/a//otril/a7i,    He    Who    Kicks    People 

Down  the  Cliff  (anaye),  81,  107,  122,  124, 

126. 

Tse'tlani  (gems),  29,  139. 
Tse'zTiWiai  (gens),  30,  145,  241. 
Tsidas/6i  (bird),  249. 
Tsklas/oi  /)ine',  mythic  people,  191,  193 
Tsi'di  Bese  (birds,  mythic),  89. 
TsTdi//6i  (Bird),  124,  236. 
Tsi'di  6asi  (birds,  mythic),  89,  90. 
Tj-ike  Nazi'li,  Young  Woman  who  Rattles, 

89. 

Tjike  Sas  Natlehi,  229. 
Tsilka/i  (a  bud),  84. 
TsTnadzi'-ni  (gens),  30,  141-143,  146. 
T.d'ndi  (devil),  37. 
Tsisnadzi'ni,  Pelado  Peak,  N.  Mex.,  71,  220, 

221. 
T-fohanoai,  sun-bearer  (god),  80,    in,  112, 

113,  126,  127,  132,133,  252. 
Tjohhi  (sacred  mountain),  78,  79,  105,  133, 

222. 

Tsotsi/  (Mount  Taylor),  200,  205-207. 

Tsozga.fi  (a  bird),  79,  222. 

Tsowenatlehi,  Changing  Grandchild  (war 
god),  124,  236,  237. 

Tmrkai,  39,  212. 

Tuintsa,  Abundant  Water,  Tuincha  Moun- 
tains, N.  Mex.,  134,  210. 

Turkey,  why  tail-feathers  pale,  218. 

Turkeys,  pet,  164,  171-175,  180,  244. 

Turquoise,  80,  104,  in,  185,  etc. 

Underworld,  181;. 
Unktehi,  Dakota  god,  212. 
Utes,  1 8,  30,  146. 

Verbesina  enceloides,  248. 


Index. 


299 


Vision  of  the  war  gods,  127. 

Vomiting,  227. 

Wallascheck,  Richard,  255,  257. 

Wands,  magic,  150-153,  221. 

War  Gods,  see  Nayenezgani  and  Tb'badsis- 

tn'ni. 

War  gods,  apparitions  of,  238. 
Water  bottle,  invention  of,  70. 
Water,  causes  conception,  105. 
Water,  four  kinds  of,  80,  218,  223. 
Water  god,  burned,  170. 
Water  god,  see  Tieholtsodi. 
Water  made  to  spring  up,  151. 
Water  of  Old  Age,  see  San  Juan  River. 
Water  People,  sacred,  169. 
Water,  sacred,  222. 
Water  Sprinkler,  see  To'nenili. 
Waters,  house  under  the,  73. 
Weapons,  divine,  113,  132,  233. 
Weasels,  74. 
Weaving,  19. 
Western  immigrants,   so  called,  see  Z>me' 

Na/^otloni. 

White  Corn,  symbolism  of,  217. 
White  Corn  Boy,  79,  105. 
White  House,  home  of  yei,  Chelly  Canyon, 

36,  251. 

White  Mountain  Thunder  (god),  64. 
White  people  (not  Caucasians),  249. 
White  shell  beads,  163. 
White  Shell  Woman,  see  Yo/kai  Estsan. 
White  under  the  Rock  (anaye),  126. 
Whirlwinds,  101,  202,  251. 
Wind,  gives  life,  69. 
Wind,  see  Nil'tri. 
Wind,  trail  of,  on  finger-tips,  69. 
Wind  People,  177,  179,  184. 
Winds,  four,  165,  1 66,  219. 
Witchcraft  and  witches,  40,  70,  187,  220,  249. 
Witches,  chief tainess  of,  see  Estsan  Nata: 


Wolf,  77,  87,  200. 
Wolf  People,  192. 
Woman  Who  Rejuvenates  Herself,  see  Es- 

tsanatlehi. 

Women,  social  position  of,  10,  240. 
Woodpeckers,  red-shafted,  245. 
Wood-rats,  160-162. 
World,  edge  of,  65,  80,  113. 
World,  how  enlarged,  223. 
Worlds,  five,  65-76. 


,  Sky  Father  (god),  230. 
Yazoni,  beautiful,  good,  247. 
Yebaad,  female  yei,  37,  243. 
Yebaka,  male  yei,  252. 

Yebitrai,    maternal    grandfather,    name    of 
224. 


Yei,  gods,  35-38,  93,  106,  217,  231,  234,  254. 

Yei,  in  kledsi  Aatit,  list  of,  252. 

Yeitso  (anaye),  108,  113,  114-116,  231,  234. 

Ye/apahi  (anaye),  91-94,  226. 

Yellow  Corn  Girl,  79,  105,  136. 

Yellow  Fox  People,  192. 

Yellow  Light  People,  104. 

Yellow  under  the  Rock  (anaye),  126. 

Yellow  Warbler,  79. 

Yoi  //a/a/,  53,  195,  250. 

Yoidse  7/a/a/,  bead  chant,  53,  250,  267. 

Yo/kai  Estsan,  White  Shell  Woman  (god- 

dess), 34,  105,  135,  230,  231,  etc. 
Young   Woman    Who    Rattles,   see    Trike 

Nazi'li. 

Yucca,  102,  103,  125,  212,  228,  229. 
Yucca-fibre,  161. 

Yucca  People  (gens),  30,  140,  239. 
Yucca  suds,  163,  184,  227. 
Yvu/i  (goods),  222. 


Zenith  and  nadir,  216. 

Zoolatry,  38. 

Zufti,  2,  10,  22,  36,  145,  i 


58,  242. 


OFFICERS 


OF 


THE    AMERICAN    FOLK-LORE    SOCIETY, 

1897. 


$  resident 
STEWART   CULIN,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


jftr0t 
HENRY  WOOD,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


FRANZ   BOAS,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

Council* 

W.  M.  BEAUCHAMP,  BALDWINSVILLE,  N.  Y. 

ROBERT   BELL,  OTTAWA,  CAN. 

DANIEL   G.  BRINTON,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

HELI    CHATELAIN,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 
fCHARLES    L.  EDWARDS,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO. 

JAMES  W.  ELLSWORTH,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 
fMERRITT   LYNDON    FERNALD,  CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 

ALICE   C.  FLETCHER,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
fALCfiE   FORTIER,  NEW  ORLEANS,  LA. 

STANSBURY  HAGAR,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. 

JOHN   H.   McCORMICK,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
fD.  P.  PENHALLOW,  MONTREAL,  P.  Q. 
fFREDERIC   W.  PUTNAM,  CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 

GARDNER   P.  STICKNEY,  MILWAUKEE,  Wis. 

permanent  ^ecretarp. 

W.  W.  NEWELL,  CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 

^Treasurer. 
JOHN   H.  HINTON,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

f  As  Presidents  of  Local  Branches. 
I 


SUBSCRIBERS 

TO  THE 

PUBLICATION    FUND 

OF 

THE   AMERICAN    FOLK-LORE    SOCIETY, 


1896. 


John  Abercromby,  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 
I.  Adler,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Samuel  P.  Avery,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Mary  M.  Barclay,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Eugene  F.  Bliss,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Boston  Athenaeum,  Boston,  Mass. 
Charles  P.  Bowditch,  Boston,  Mass. 
Daniel  G.  Brinton,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philip  Greely  Brown,  Portland,  Me. 
Miss  Mary  Chapman,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Miss  Ellen  Chase,  Brookline,  Mass. 
*Francis  James  Child,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Clarence  H.  Clark,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Charles  P.  Daly,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
William  G.  Davies,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Charles  F.  Daymond,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Hiram  Edmund  Deats,  Flemington,  N.  J. 
Mrs.  Henry  Draper,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
James  W.  Ellsworth,  Chicago,  111. 
John  Fiske,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

2 


Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Alfred  C.  Garrett,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
George  Bird  Grinnell,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Edwin  Sidney  Hartland,  Gloucester,  England. 
Mrs.  Esther  Herrmann,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
John  H.  Hinton,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Richard  Hodgson,  Boston,  Mass. 
Miss  Cornelia  Horsford,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
John  E.  Hudson,  Boston,  Mass. 
Theodore  D.  Hurlbut,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Clarence  M.  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
E.  Francis  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Frederick  E.  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
A.  Jacobi,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Edward  C.  James,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Louise  Kennedy,  Concord,  Mass. 
Henry  Charles  Lea,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Walter  Learned,  New  London,  Conn. 
Charles  McK.  Leoser,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  W.  Kingsmill  Marrs,  Boston,  Mass. 
Albert  Matthews,  Boston,  Mass. 
J.  Meyer,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Agnes  Morgan,  Chicago,  111. 
William  Wells  Newell,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Oswald  Ottendorfer,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Mary  A.  Owen,  St.  Joseph,  Mo. 
Dr.  C.  Augusta  Pope,  Boston,  Mass. 
3 


Frederic  W.  Putnam,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Mrs.  H.  E.  Raymond,  Brookline,  Mass. 
W.  L.  Richardson,  Boston,  Mass. 
John  S.  Ringwalt,  Jr.,  Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio. 
Charles  Schaffer,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Otto  B.  Schlutter,  Hartford,  Conn. 
C.  Bernard  Shea,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Gardner  P.  Stickney,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Brandreth  Symonds,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
F.  F.  Thompson,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
John  S.  Tilney,  Orange,  N.  J. 
Crawford  H.  Toy,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Henry  H.  Vail,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Washington  Seminary,  Washington,  D.  C. 
*Alfred  M.  Williams,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Henry  J.  Willing,  Chicago,  111. 
Mrs.  Henry  J.  Willing,  Chicago,  111. 
William  Young,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
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